Waterford ― A large crowd gathered a Harkness Memorial State Park to see John Rose’s large kites with the help of his members of John Rose Kite-Flying Family and Friends. People not connected with his group also brought their own kites of all sizes.

Rose grew up poor on a farm where he made his own kites from newspaper, twigs and string, according to a proclamation the town issued in his honor on Friday.

Rose purchased a small lot of kites from a kite manufacturer that was going out of business about 25 years ago and began flying them for his family. His family noticed how much joy kite flying brought him, so for the past 15 years they have gifted him kites every gift giving occasion, according to the proclamation.

Rose spends hours texting around 200 followers, one by one, letting them know his next kite flying date. His following grew to over 6,500 and sends messages and photos via his website since 2018.