By DAVE DOMESCIK | Staff Writer

PELHAM – The city of Pelham will host a Flag Retirement Ceremony on Flag Day, Saturday, June 14, at 10 a.m. at the Pelham City Cemetery, providing residents with a solemn opportunity to honor the American flag with proper and respectful disposal.

The event, which is open to the public, will take place at the city’s designated flag retirement pit, located within the cemetery. Residents are encouraged to bring worn or tattered American flags to the ceremony. For those unable to attend, flags may be dropped off in advance at The Home Depot on Pelham Parkway, the flag retirement box at the Pelham Senior Center or at any Pelham Fire Department station. All collected flags will be included in the ceremony.

Pelham Mayor Gary Waters said Flag Day, which commemorates the Continental Congress’s adoption of the American flag on June 14, 1777, is a particularly meaningful time to hold the event.

“There’s no set date for retiring a flag, but since we have more than 100 ready for proper retirement, Flag Day felt like the right time,” Waters said. “It’s a fitting occasion to honor what the flag represents.”

The idea for the annual ceremony was brought to the city by Barry Winn, a retired Boy Scout leader from Pelham. According to Waters, Winn wanted to revive a tradition that had faded in recent years.

“The Elks Lodge was the first group in Pelham to hold a Flag Day program,” Waters said. “Every year, the Boy Scouts retired flags after the program, but that hasn’t happened for some years,” Waters explained. “Barry brought the idea to us a few months ago, and I supported the request.”

The flag retirement pit, located at the cemetery, was built as an Eagle Scout project by Winn’s son. It now serves as the designated location for the city’s flag disposal efforts and will be central to the June 14 ceremony.

Waters emphasized the emotional weight and symbolic significance of properly retiring the flag.

“You should honor the American flag the same way you honor the value of human life,” he said. “A flag retirement ceremony is not just a tradition. It’s a solemn moment, like a funeral, where we pay our respects to what that flag stands for.”

Several local organizations have been invited to participate in the ceremony, including the city of Pelham, Matthew Blount Post 555 of the American Legion, the Boy Scouts and the Cahaba Valley Elks Lodge.

The ceremony will include a call to order, an opening prayer, the Pledge of Allegiance and a reading of the poem “I Am the Flag” by Waters. Attendees who bring flags will be invited to place them in the pit for burning. All collected flags—both those brought that day and those submitted in advance—will be respectfully retired.

“People can stay for as long as they like after that,” Waters said. “It’s casual. Come as you are.”