As part of its community outreach, the Odenton Volunteer Fire Company (OVFC) has provided a collection box for worn and tattered United States (US) flags so that they could be respectfully retired in accordance with the US Flag Code. OVFC member John Kraft made the collection box and it was set out during public events such as Odenton Day and Food Truck Thursdays. Through arrangements with local Scout troops, the flags would be burned in a dignified manner.
On June 14, 2020, Flag Day, the Scouts of Venture Crew 3141 of Odenton, Troop 160 of Glen Burnie, and Troop 446 of Hanover conducted a flag retirement ceremony at the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Post 160 in Glen Burnie. Over 200 flags from around the community, including those collected by OVFC were given a dignified retirement. The ceremony included a history of Old Glory through the years along with patriotic music as the scouts came in turns to render the honors one flag at a time. Scouts even discovered a Civil War era flag with only 35 stars among the anonymous donations. The Scouts, the OVFC, and the VFW would like to thank the community for their support and will be doing it again as more used flags are collected.
