Oliver’s to mark Flag Day by retiring old flags

Oliver’s has brought back its retired flags program again this year.
 
Old flags it has collected over the last year will be retired and buried at the Grande Prairie Cemetary on February 15, which is also Flag Day in Canada.
 
“It started off with people not knowing what to do with flags. It’s not a thing that we should do is throwing it in the garbage. I talked to a veteran and got his (input) on how we should be disposing of the flag. It should be incinerated, but that doesn’t work anymore because there’s too much nylon in the flags now,” says Liesa Peters, the Community Relations & Concierge Services Coordinator with Oliver’s.
 
She adds they were hoping to collect 20 flags the first year they did this.
 
“The first year we had 30-some, the next year we had 92 and last year we had 152. It is definitely something that is growing.”
 
Besides Canada and Alberta, retired flags have come from five other provinces and territories. They have also collected some Union Jacks, a Red Ensign, and an old Hudson’s Bay Company flag.
 
The ceremony will start at 11 a.m. on the 15th. People can meet at Oliver’s at 10:30 a.m. that day and everyone can go to the Cemetary as a group. There will be a lunch and program back at Oliver’s after it concludes.