The organization couldn't think of a better way for the prospective Boy Scouts to perform community service while celebrating freedom.
WASHINGTON TWP. -- Pops of patriotic colors -- red, white, and blue -- weren't limited to the sky and t-shirts on Independence Day weekend.
As hundreds of families anxiously waited at the Washington Township High School campus for the yearly firework extravaganza put on by the township, Cub Scouts Pack 122 were out collecting old worn out American flags to retire at the organizations annual flag retiring ceremony in June.
According to scout leader John Colligan, the organization couldn't think of a better way for the prospective Boy Scouts to perform community service while celebrating freedom.
"It represents our country," he said, adding that the scouts are taught how to respect and treat the flag while learning to interact with others.
More than two dozen flags were collected Sunday night, adding to the 200 to 300 collected since the effort began four years ago.
Fireworks at Washington Twp #summeroffred pic.twitter.com/7hvaC28eL2
-- Fred Harris (@fharris39) July 4, 2016
Colligan's son 10-year-old son Owen, was handing out flyers about the scouts as families set up towels and chairs to get ready for the fireworks.
"We want to do it in an honorary way," he said about collecting the flags for retirement. "People just really love America and I think the significance is that they are willing to let the flags go and retire them."
Cub Scout Justin Longo, 8, was also collecting flags and handing out flyers Sunday night. He said that collecting the flags fits well with celebrating Independence Day.
The flags will be retired during a "dignified" burning ceremony next June, John Colligan said.
Sunday's event also marked traditional outings for hundreds of area families.
Most nestled into a spot in the parking lot, on grassy space at the high school, or curbside along Hurffville-Crosskeys Road a few hours before the first firework whistled and popped. It was around 8 p.m. when most were ready for the pink and blue sky to transform into their personal outdoor theater.
Kathy Bially has been attending the township's fireworks show for the past 38 years and she wanted her children to share a bit of her childhood.
"I think we love it more than the kids," said Kathy Bially, who remembers cutting through the Ace Hardware parking lot on Greentreen Road with her father to watch the fireworks from the high school baseball field.
It's a yearly family tradition that some say brings the community together.