Speakup doesn't speak at booting

[RK]

Hello all,
I just installed RH 9 using the ISO images from the Speakup modified Redhat
installation page, and following the instructions.  The install went ok
(although I'm missing Lynx).  However, I booted for the first time and
entered

setserial ttys0 uart none
modprobe speakup_dectlk
This works, but it doesn't make the system speak right at boot, I have to
enter these commands every time I boot the system. Any way to get around
this?
Also another question:
I want to install Gnome 2.4 and try Gnopernicus. How do I get there from
RH9?
And my final question for now:
Does Speakup support software synthesizers yet? If so, how do I go about
this?

Please bear with, I am a newbie for about the fourth time (I spend too much
time at work playing with Windows boxes).