For 9-year-old, patriotism flowers

FRAMINGHAM -- It was a natural gesture for a patriotic boy like Collin Kelly.

The freckle-faced 9-year-old, who makes a point to shake soldiers' hands and stands for the national anthem wherever he is, wanted to plant flowers at veterans' graves in Edgell Grove Cemetery in Framingham last week.

''These people are practically forgotten," Collin, a second-grader, said yesterday.

But his efforts were quickly rebuffed by the cemetery's trustees. There were rules, they said: You can't adorn a gravestone unless it's someone in your family.

Now, after their decision provoked an outcry from local veterans, the cemetery trustees have agreed to let Collin pay his tribute this weekend with 156 red geraniums donated by a local American Legion post. Collin has agreed to remove the flowers Monday night, after Memorial Day celebrations are over.

''The happiest point of all of this was just his recognition of these forgotten soldiers and his feelings of some sorrow that they were forgotten," said Collin's father, Gerard Kelly.

The Kellys hope the trustees will be at the cemetery tomorrow, as the family and townspeople put out the flowers. This time around, they won't plant them, but place the plastic containers at the gravesites.

The controversy, first documented in The MetroWest Daily News, made it all the way to the ''Today" show on NBC, where Collin appeared yesterday morning.

The whole thing began about two weeks ago, when Collin and his mother went to her father's grave. After they left, Collin said he wanted to do something for the soldiers who had no flowers. He was particularly struck by a grave marked ''unknown soldier."

To raise money for the flowers, Collin went door to door. He asked friends at school for donations. In an orange Kleenex box he collected $24 ($5 was from his brother).

After getting the OK from the cemetery's superintendent, Kevin Devlin, the family planted 22 marigolds in front of 11 grave sites on May 19.

But when they returned the next day, Devlin told them the trustees had met and said they couldn't plant any more.

''We're responsible for maintaining the serenity of the cemetery, and we have rules," said Stan Fitts, chairman of the trustees. ''We have tried to take care of those who have entrusted their loved ones to our care."

Fitts said the trustees offered to let the family plant flowers in an area behind a monument, and the Kellys took him up on it.

But the decision not to allow the family to plant flowers at the graves upset local veterans, who were happy to have a youngster eager to honor those who have served.

''I very much disagree with their ruling," said Mal Schulze, president of the Framingham Veterans Council. ''I understand that there are rules or whatever, but there are certain times when you turn your head. You would think that this community would want to go along with this."

Schulze has asked Collin to be his guest of honor for Framingham's annual Memorial Day ceremony at Town Hall and also for an event at which wreaths are placed at cemeteries and memorials throughout the town.

The Edgell Grove Cemetery is tucked away in a wooded, hilly area off Route 9. In the back of the property, owned by the town and run by five elected trustees, is an area where veterans dating to the Revolutionary War are buried. Few graves have flowers in front of them, though each is marked with an American flag, which local veterans replace every year.

Lynn Kelly said the family's regular visits to the cemetery is one way they show their love for the country. Her oldest son, Thompson, 16, wants to join the Coast Guard. Every time the national anthem comes on, no matter where they are, the family removes hats and puts hands on their hearts.

The Kellys say they are happy with the solution they have reached with the trustees.

They weren't trying to flout the rules, ''nor were we trying to make a statement," Gerard Kelly said. ''This was an innocent gesture."

Fitts said that he wasn't sure whether the trustees would meet the Kellys at the cemetery tomorrow, but he said they were happy with the arrangement, too, though he wishes the family would have mentioned it on the ''Today" show.

''We have no hard feelings," he said. ''We're there to accommodate people in the cemetery and work to maintain the facility."

Collin said he never meant to cause such a stir. He just thought it was unfair that some veterans had flowers and others did not.

''I think it's nice if they have something to remember them by," he said, ''so they won't seem that lonely."

Matt Viser can be reached at maviser@globe.com.