Nikole Babb
nbabb@cherryroad.com
The Benton Cemetery proudly displays 101 American flags each year for Memorial Day. Primary caretaker of the cemetery, 68-year-old Brent Pickering, is hopeful to fundraise enough money to replace the old, tattered flags so Old Glory can continue to show her patriotic colors in honor of those who have fallen.
Brent Pickering has worked for Benton Township for the last eight years with a primary responsibility of tending to the Benton Cemetery. Each year with the help of the local volunteer fire department and other volunteers they raise 101 American flags for Memorial Day. Those flags have grown old and now need replacement due to the ripping Kansas wind and weather conditions they’ve endured throughout the years.
“He treats each person’s grave like it’s his family,” said Brent’s daughter Erika.
Getting those funds is trickier than one may think. Benton Township hasn’t been able to allocate the funds to purchase new flags and Brent doesn’t have enough of his own money to buy them. So, he thought he could crowd source and raise funds through a GoFundMe account.
“He just thought, ‘The township may not be able to purchase them but as a citizen, I can do whatever I want’,” said Erika.
One may not put in the extra effort to replace the flags and wait for funds to become available, but these flags are special to Brent and he genuinely adores putting them up each year. He’s especially grateful for the volunteers from Butler County Fire District #7 whom he couldn’t complete the task without each year. Without them it would take him and a co-worker all day to put them up, but the job is done within a couple of hours with their assistance.
Brent also has a huge sense of patriotism thanks to his father who was an Army verteran. He loves his country and honoring those who have fallen fighting for it.
“He takes a lot of pride in taking care of the cemetery,” said Erika. “When you pass by on 254 and the flags are up, you can’t help but notice. The flags look so dramatic and beautiful when they’re all up.”
In order to replace all of the flags, Brent needs to raise $5,250 in total. Right now the GoFundMe has a goal of $2,800, which would cover about 62 flags without shipping.
“You can find cheaper flags but the ones he’s priced out specifically are heavy duty, high-wind resistant so they’ll be quality flags that won’t need to be replaced next year or very soon,” said Erika.
The flags in question are 5ft x 8ft and cost about $45 per flag without shipping and handling fees. Brent said his heart would be warmed if they met their goal plus a little extra so they could work towards replacing the flag on the main flagpole as it inches closer to needing replacement as well.
To help Brent reach his goal of replacing the flags before Memorial Day, donations can be made at any Vintage Bank. They have locations in Benton, El Dorado, Leon, Rose Hill, Towanda, Whitewater and Wichita. To donate digitally visit the GoFundme at https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-new-flags-for-benton-cemetery-memorial-display
3/31/2025 update: This article has been updated to correct the flag size.
