Return to tradition: bringing the national anthem back to baseball in Colville

By Liv Stecker

For a busy family in the late spring, it’s hard to find a minute to catch your breath between practices and games and end of the school year events, but for Mason Floener and his family, there is no time like the present to reinstate a long forgotten tradition and reminder to the community about our patriotic roots. 

Mason joined Boy Scout Troop 921 in the Colville area when he was 11, after an illustrious career with the Cub Scouts in his earlier years. A ninth grader, Mason is now a Star Scout and on a quest to earn the community service hours for his next rank advancement. Searching for a project to benefit the community, Mason hailed on his patriotic passion after a suggestion from his mother, Pam, sparked his interest. For more than two decades, the flagpole at Yep Kanum park has stood barren over the Kiwanis Little League Field. Why the tradition of lowering and raising the flag for baseball games, along with the performance of the national anthem went away more than 20 years ago is a mystery to all involved, but the idea to re-initiate the ceremony came from Pam Floener. 

Growing up in Colville at the same little league field, Pam remembers the time when every game started with the flag raising and the national anthem. When the custom stopped is unclear, but it has been many years. Mason jumped on the idea. “I have always been very patriotic,” he grins, with a boy-next-door good natured shrug. An avid animal lover, he says it was attending the rodeo as a young boy and watching the horses fly by with the flags streaming proudly behind that first stirred his national pride. Bringing the flag back to the empty pole at the field seemed like a long overdue project. 

The journey to restoring the flag ceremony at the Colville City Park began when Mason approached Kiwanis Baseball Commissioner Eric Ohrtman for permission to string a new flag to the pole and implement the ceremony at the beginning of all little league games. Ohrtman and other league representatives and coaches were all for the project. With help from Ohrtman and donations from the Jeff Weeman Memorial Fund, Mason acquired a new speaker to play the national anthem. Getting the right speaker took a few tries but the new flag was donated by a local church. With help from league coaches, flag captains were assigned from each team who took a leadership role in learning proper flag handling and raising skills. 

Mason has been on hand at every game to facilitate the ceremony and play the soundtrack of the national anthem while the teams stand at attention on the baselines. He has far surpassed the requirements for his community service hours to move on to the next rank of Life Scout with Troop 921. In addition to his patriotic drive, Mason is a busy freshman with and older and younger brother, so he comes from a family where community sporting events such as Little League are a steady part of his lifestyle. Scouting has been one of his passions since he was a young boy, and his activity led in part to the participation of his brothers in the program. Mason is on track to reach his goal of Eagle Scout long before he graduates from high school. 

In the meantime, if he’s not at a scouting event, you can find Mason at the ballpark, teaching young players what it means to respect the flag, the nation and the freedom that provides them the opportunity to play the all-American sport.