Vernon's New Uncle Sam: A Family Tradition Carried On

VERNON, CT — It was 7:03 p.m. Tuesday and the sun was beginning to dip below the trees and buildings in Downtown Rockville at the annual Vernon July in the Sky fireworks celebration. Perhaps it was fitting because, at the end of the event's Push, Pedal and Pull Patriotic Parade, a family's tradition of portraying Uncle Sam turned from sadness to a legacy proudly commemorated.

"It's an honor to carry on a tradition for my grandfather and the town that I knew Grandpa poured his heart into," said 16-year-old Nathan Galligan, Vernon's "new" Uncle Sam.

While making the statement, Galligan was holding a portrait of Grandpa — Bryan Flint. In May, Grandpa was killed in a car crash at the age of 64. Bryan Flint was Vernon's original Uncle Sam. He was also the town's magician, an advocate for the homeless and less fortunate as the Cornerstone Foundation shelter director and without dispute, the man who cared most about the Rockville section of town, townsfolk still say.

And this is no ordinary Uncle Sam. This is an Uncle Sam on stilts. He wants you from a place higher up than a basketball hoop.

This year was Nathan's third year of portraying Uncle Sam at the July in the Sky festivities in Downtown Rockville, but the first without his mentor and grandfather.

His mom, Mystica Flint, said it hit home.

"I will always remember how proud my father was, beaming up at Nathan, while teaching him how to balance on the stilts in his backyard," Mystica Flint said, "Watching Nathan walking in my dad's shoes at this year's annual Bryan Flint's Push, Pedal, Pull Parade made me a proud mother and daughter."

Yes, Flint's name was officially added to the event Tuesday along with a moment of silence and reflection led by longtime Downtown Rockville officials Tom DiDio and Teri Rogers.

"Learning of the intentions to rename the July in the Sky parade to Bryan Flint's Push, Pedal, Pull Parade brought tears to my eyes," said Alexis Flint-Carmicheal, Bryan Flint's daughter, Nathan Galligan's aunt and the Cornerstone Foundation's communications director. "Teri Rogers does an amazing job putting together this fun event every year and has worked with my dad for years throughout different projects and organizations in Rockville. Although I do believe my father would be truly embarrassed to have this much attention brought to him, I know he is proud of our entire community for coming together and supporting each other."

Flint-Carmicheal said she and her sisters had a group message going the morning of this year's July in the Sky I that said, "July in the Sky without Bryan Flint is like Christmas without Santa."

She added, "The Fourth of July and Rockville's July in the Sky is our family's biggest holiday. We love and enjoy every other holiday, but this is the special one for us. For so many years we would walk to Downtown Rockville to watch our dad's magic show, eat fried dough, watch our dad be Uncle Sam, then walk back to our dad's house for our own special view of the fireworks. It was always magical.

"Ten years ago, when my brother, Bryan Flint, Jr., passed, July in the Sky had new meaning. We all skipped the festivities that year, because that was the day of my brother's funeral. July in the Sky has forevermore become about more than just this country's independence, it is a reminder to us about our loved ones. It's a time for the Flint Family to celebrate those we love, and to continue to fight for others and try to always do the right thing in their memory."

Flint-Carmicheal paused and added one more thought.

"We are so grateful to Teri Rogers, Tom DiDio and the Rockville Downtown Association for the love and kindness they have shown in memory of our father through the parade, their kind words, the moment of silence and so much more," she said.