News : Vinton loses a friend; high diving champ Ed Cole donated water slide to pool

Ed "Eddie" Cole was a Big 10 and NCAA champion on the trampoline and a world champion high-diver. He owned the Chapman's Fun World in Cedar Rapids, where there was a huge waterslide, a go-cart track and variety of other activities.

What Cole's obituary does not say, however is that he was a very good friend of Vinton.

When Cole sold out his Fun World, he called Vinton Parks and Recreation Director Duane Randall.

"Come and get anything you want," he said.

Anything.

That included the large waterslide that Vinton pool patrons have been enjoying for many years.

Randall estimated that Cole's donation to Vinton was worth $200,000 to the city.

"He called me up and told me he wanted to give us the water slide," said Randall. "He said we had two to three weeks to come get whatever we wanted."

Randall and his staff went to Fun World. They took the water slide, the go-carts, even plumbing fixtures. The ball cage used for Party in the Park is also one of the donations from Fun World.

Some time before deciding to sell out, Cole, who married Linda Lyons in Vinton in 1986, had told Randall that "someday this will all be yours," referring to his plan to donate the items to the VPRD.

"Eddie loved to play racquetball and he loved to golf here in town," said Randall. "He was a great guy, he really was. He always had a soft spot in his heart for Vinton. He loved the town and he loved the Parks and Rec Department. It is astronomical what he has done for us."

After getting the offer from Cole, Randall said he and his staff "went through his buildings and took all we needed," including stools, urinals and maintenance equipment. The VPRD also took the go-carts, which were later sold to help provide funding for the waterslide.

When the pool opens this weekend, the people who use the waterslide will see a plaque that honors Eddie Cole and his donation.

Visitation for Cole will take place from 4-7 p.m. tonight, with a memorial service at 10 a.m. tomorrow morning at Van Steenhuyse-Russell Funeral Home in Vinton. See Cole's complete obituary HERE.