TST BOCES comes to the aid of Groton American Legion Post 800

Randy Jackson has been the welding instructor at the Tompkins-Seneca-Tioga Board of Cooperative Education Services (TST BOCES) for the past 25 years and has been teaching its adult program for the past 40. Jackson is also a member of the Sons of the American Legion Groton New York Post 800.

Randy’s 87-year-old father, Alan Neil Jackson, was a Marine, but Randy proudly said, “My dad always says, ‘You never “was” a Marine — you are a Marine!’”

One of the many great things American Legion posts do is collect American flags that have deteriorated in order to dispose of them in a respectful and proper manner. Many posts do this with a mailbox on site. The Groton American Legion Carrington-Fuller Post 800 (the Legion) is no exception, but through the years, the mailbox there had suffered its own state of disrepair. This was something Randy noticed and wanted to remedy.

“I often take flags to that mailbox, and I began to notice how weathered and rotted it had become”, Randy said. “The kids in my class like to do volunteer work and are very supportive of the United States, so I asked the Legion commander, Frank Heine, if I could take the box and have my students repair it. We do anything we can for the community that does not take work away from the workforce, so I knew it would be an easy ask for them.”

Heine was delighted at Randy’s offer. Heine said that he had asked the Groton postmistress, Penny Collyer, if the Legion could have a new mailbox, but that Collyer had explained that they (the U.S. Postal Service) may not give them away.

“We had had it repaired by Jim Sedorus at Caskey’s Garage about 10 years ago,” Heine said, “but that only lasted so long. I was thrilled with Randy’s offer, because we didn’t know what else we could do.”

The repair process begins

“I brought the mailbox in and asked my students who wanted to do the project,” Randy said. “That’s how I assign all projects to students. Hunter Travers, a senior at South Seneca High School, volunteered.”

Travers quickly realized that the mailbox needed more than a simple repair. He cut it apart to nothing and rebuilt the whole thing. Randy said that Travers disassembled and reassembled it with all new material.

“It was a great learning experience,” Randy said. “Every step of it was a lot more of a project than I thought it would be. It turned into a lesson for the whole class, but Hunter [Travers] did the work, consulting with me along the way.”

Another aspect of the consulting process included Matt Lott, TST BOCES’ Auto Body program instructor, because Randy had arranged that once Travers had his part completed, the painting would be done by the Auto Body program.

“We worked collaboratively with the Auto Body class, and that turned into a community project for the entire body shop,” Randy explained. “Matt [Lott] advised Hunter [Travers] on what to do to make their job easiest. They needed a good base of metal with no body filler from the welding shop because the body shop would cover that. I told them what I wanted for a design — a flag motif — and it turned out perfectly!”

What happens to deteriorated flags?

Heine explained that the American flag code requires that flags be disposed of in a respectful manner — usually by burning them. He said that the Legion used to hold its own ceremonies by burning old flags in its barbecue pit, but that this became dangerous because the flames would become quite intense right there in the village.

“We now save [the flags] throughout the year and take them to the annual watch fire in Lansing,” Frank said. “We also ask that when people put them in the mailbox, that they would not be in plastic, in boxes, or with poles attached. Just the flags, please.”

The original Lansing Watch Fire was held at Myers Point on Cayuga Lake in 1990 and has been an annual event since. It is held on the third Friday of September, in conjunction with the National POW/MIA Recognition Day. The purpose of the watch fire is to honor the thousands of American soldiers from the Vietnam War who are still listed as missing in action or prisoners of war. Symbolic watch fires occur throughout our country to provide hope to family members of the missing that they may yet be found and brought home.

With gratitude…

“I am incredibly grateful to TST BOCES — otherwise, this would have cost us a lot of money,” Heine said. “We did make a $200 donation to them. We are so glad for the good learning experience for the kids, especially respect for the flag.”

“This was not done for any sort of recognition,” Randy was sure to point out. “We talk a lot in my welding classes about serving our community and supporting our veterans.”

In brief:

Free breakfast and lunch for kids

All Groton youth 18 and under may pick up breakfast and/or lunch for free at the Groton Fire Department parking lot from 9 to 10:30 a.m. In addition, Groton Jr./Sr. High School, 400 Peru Rd. offers breakfast from 7:30 to 9 a.m. and lunch from 10:45 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Both sites are open Monday through Friday through Aug. 15. Participation is limited to one site per student.

Toys in the Park 

The Finger Lakes Toy Library is at Groton Memorial Park every Friday from 10:30 a.m. to noon through Aug. 8. Best for children five and under, they have everything from building toys to board games. This program is free!

Adult kickball

Grab your sneakers, go outside and get moving! Come play kickball! This program, open to all abilities, takes place at Groton Memorial Park every Thursday through Aug. 21 from 6:30 to 8 p.m. There is no cost, and no registration is required. Questions? Email recreation@grotonny.org.