The police cruiser, its blues flashing, blocked the line of cars turning into the Epsom traffic circle.
About 100 people then crossed this busy stretch, to the small island within the circular roadway, named after two fallen police officers, Jeremy Charron and Michael Briggs.
Two flags, their ends frayed, were lowered, two replacement flags, crisp and whole, raised. Tears fell. The National Anthem was sung. Veterans saluted. Civilians placed their hands over their hearts.
Memorial Day, residents felt, needed to be honored appropriately, and so did the late George Kelloway Sr., a World War II Navy man. These were his flags, the new and the old. Someone had to take over this informal event since his death last year. Someone had to care about sacrifice and courage while people of a certain age tapped on cellphones, unaware and indifferent.
George’s two sons – Dave Kelloway and George Kelloway Jr. – now spearhead the effort, joined by others, some of whom used to sit with George at the local Dunkin’ Donuts, talking politics, sports, family and, eventually, those flags at the circle named for those two late cops.
Why were the flags allowed to get weathered? George Sr. forever wanted to know.
“He was so patriotic,” 60-year-old Dave Kelloway of Epsom said. “It irked him that those flags were not being taken care of. He got mad because no one would lower it to half-staff. When it needed to be at half-staff, he would walk across the road to the circle. He’d bring them down on his own.”
George died last year in April. He was 90. He had an impact on others, volunteering at a hospital in Massachusetts, then, about seven years ago, moving here and taking it upon himself to respect the flags – the American and the POW/MIA- that flapped in the wind, attached to that giant flagpole.
“It’s nice when you do things like that, for others,” Leon Sargent told me. “We did it in remembrance of George. This was for George.”
Sargent was on the ground floor of this evolutionary process, part of the group that met George nearly every day at Dunkin’ Donuts over the past few years. The others were Paul Moran, Bob Blodgett, Mike Hoisington, Dave Kelloway and John Klose.
George always had the same seat, tucked in the corner. “When he moved here he didn’t know anyone, so he would go there and have coffee and get to know the locals,” Dave Kelloway said. “He came home one day and asked who takes care of the flags in the circle? He said they were all torn and tattered, and they weren’t big enough and he wanted to know who was responsible and he did not get an answer, so he went around on his own to businesses looking for donations.”
To George, this had to be done. He enlisted in the Navy at 17, before graduating high school. He was an engineman, 3rd Class. He was honorably discharged. He loved the United States.
Tattered flags? Frayed flags?
Not on George’s watch.
“It really offended him that things were not in shape there, not lowered appropriately when needed,” said Ruth Kelloway, George’s daughter-in-law and the wife of George Kelloway Jr. “He saw what they looked like. He started a campaign.”
He also built a reputation as a man who could and would talk to anyone. Age never mattered.
His two sons and others called him pops. His grandkids called him “Bump.” Fifteen-year-old Brianna Virgin, who was not related to George Sr., called him grandpa.
“A very sweet guy,” Brianna told me. “He cared about everyone.”
Brianna’s father, Josh Virgin, managed a local Mobil station for 10 years. That’s how he got to know George.
“He would come in and get his paper,” Josh said. “He was a great man, always for his community and his family, country, the flag.”
Last Sunday, May 19, marked the third time since 2015 that Epsom and its patriots had gathered near the traffic circle to replace the old with the new, the flags that George had purchased through private and corporate donations.
George Jr., like his dad, served in the Navy 50 ago and was in Vietnam for two years. He and Dave walked across the street to the circle, the Epsom police cruiser blocking traffic, flashing its lights.
The island features two skyscraper-like poles, one a light tower, the other a flagpole. The American flag came down first, with Dave pulling the rope and George Jr. saluting. Both wiped tears from their eyes.
Brianna Virgin held the tightly folded American flag, the old one, telling me, “This is hard to put into words, but I know it’s important because it’s the flag.”
The new American flag was raised, then the black POW/MIA flag came down and was replaced by its newer version. The wind served a purpose on this overcast, cool day, giving the new flags snap and life.
“He was a caring man, and he always wanted everything to be perfect,” said Lindsay Kelloway, Dave’s daughter and George’s granddaughter. “If something was off, he would do what he had to do to fix it.”
That’s why a segment of Epsom turned out to the area’s traffic circle, eight days before Memorial Day. George Kelloway Sr. wanted things to be perfect. Something was off, so he chose to fix it.
Once the flags had been replaced, the blue lights on the police SUV swirled again, allowing everyone to walk back across the street.
The new flags are expected to last maybe two years. Then, George’s sons, with lots of support, will carry on the tradition.
“I have the extra flags he bought,” Dave Kelloway said. “We do it for dad.”