Boy Scouts retire old flag in Historic St. Nicholas Cemetery

Posted on June 3, 2017 By Editor Junior Residents

As Jaylen Barnes (with microphone) gives the commands, the color guard from Boy Scout Troop 106 removes the old flag from the pole at the Historic St. Nicholas Cemetery to fold it one last time before it is burned.

It was out with the old and in with the new as members of Boy Scout Troop 106, which is sponsored by Assumption Catholic Church, gathered May 6 to retire the old American flag in Historic St. Nicholas Cemetery and replace it with a new flag, which had previously flown over the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C.

Early in the morning approximately 40 St. Nicholas residents, Boy Scouts, parents, and members of the Fort San Nicholas Chapter of the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution (NSDAR) were on hand to reverently bid farewell to the old flag, which had flown for many years atop a flagpole erected a few years ago as an Eagle Scout project by Michael Harro, with the help of Woodmen of the World, North Florida Chapter 3. The old flag was replaced with a new one donated by the NSDAR chapter.

Attending the ceremony were Dr. Kay Gilmour of St. Nicholas, author of “A Genealogical History of Florida: Revealed in the Historical St. Nicholas Cemetery,” Fort San Nicholas Past Regent Ruth Berry of St. Nicholas, Scout Troop 106 Chartered Organization Representative Robert Heekin, and Paul McMullen of Woodmen of the World, North Florida Chapter 3, who also assisted with the ceremony.