ROCK SPRINGS — When 12-year-old BSA Troop 86 member Aven Conover wanted to select an Eagle Project to complete, he wanted it to benefit the community.
After considering various projects, Aven decided to create a collection box for used and tattered American flags. Residents can donate their old flags and when enough are donated the Boy Scouts will properly dispose of them. In the past, Troop 86 has worked with American Legion Archie Hay Post 24 to conduct flag disposal ceremonies to properly dispose of flags collected. This will add to that partnership by collecting old flags.
“We should respect the flag and properly dispose of it,” Aven said. “Most people just throw them away.”
He said oftentimes, residents just don’t know what to do with their old flags, but American flags should be respectfully disposed of by burning them or burying them in the ground. They should not be thrown in the trash.
Once Aven selected his project, he started researching what type of collection box to make and finally settled on a design he found on Pinterest. The collection box is 4 feet tall, 2 feet wide, and 2 feet deep and can collect between 20 and 25 flags depending on how they are folded when donated. The box was made out of particle board and plywood and painted red, white, and blue to give it a patriotic look.
Aven said the project taught him how to work with wood and how to paint. He also learned valuable leadership skills when directing other Scouts on how to assist him with the project. The whole project took about two weeks to complete.
After Aven completed the project, his second part of the project was finding a place to donate it to. After speaking with Rock Springs Mayor Max Mickelson, it was decided that the Rock Springs Historical Museum would accept the flag collection box.
Aven and his father Dustin Conover then made arrangements to drop off the flag collection box at the RS Museum in March.
Aven wanted to thank his dad and Scouts Kaleb Cheney, Logan Conover, Ty Corbett, and Robert Roswell for their help with the project, his uncle Jesse Conover for the engraved plaque, Lane Owens and the Home Depot for donating the supplies used to construct the box, and the City of Rock Springs and the RS Museum for allowing the museum to be the box’s permanent home.
