Photo: L to R: Karen Smith, Mackenzi Golden, Dr. Lester Sitzes, Mary Martinez, Les Patterson, George Neel , Emma Wright, Sterling Sawyer, Jacia Hicks, D’Aunna Golden, Kody O’Brien , Donnie Golden, Hunter Mathis, Joshua Henley, Riley Golden,

Drake Mathis, Ed Flagg and Ken Shafer.

Troop 5, of Hope, learned how to properly fold and arrange American flags for two deceased Hope veterans. Folding the flags to fit perfectly in the cases with the stars displayed correctly is a challenging test of one’s patience. You have to keep folding and rearranging the corners until the stars line up.

With the help of an instructional video and drawing on some adult past experiences the Scouts succeeded in producing framed flags that were even better than what was shown on the big screen.

The two large 9 foot by 5 foot burial flags belong to Elmer Smith and Albert Patton of Hope.

The 3 foot by 5 foot American Flag was flown at the US Capitol by US Senator Tom Cotton in honor of Elmer Smith. It came with a certificate of authenticity that is also in the frame.

Thanks to Jeremy Dillard, son of Sandra Patterson for making the arrangements on the Washington, DC flag, General Manager Chuck Eldridge of Hope Auto for making the purchase of the frames possible and to Larry Moses at Main Street Cleaners for fixing Elmer’s burial flag as a donation to Scouts.

Troop 5 is sponsored by the Century Bible Class of Hope’s First United Methodist Church