New Overton Park playground area to be built in memory of Cam Cole

Cam Cole loved firetrucks.

According to his dad, Cam was “virtually obsessed with the fire station by [Overton Park],” where he had his first three birthday parties and visited weekly.

After November of last year, though, visiting Overton Park brought out deep sorrow in Cam’s dad, Cameron Cole. Cam died in his sleep unexpectedly on Nov. 11, just a couple of months after his third birthday.

This month, however, the park will evoke a different set of feelings for those who knew Cam, ones of joy and remembrance. A set of firetruck-themed playground equipment will be built at the park in Cam’s memory.

“When you lose a loved one, especially a young one, you so desperately want them to be remembered, and something like this is positive and so fitting,” Cole said.

A group of the Coles’ friends initiated and raised all the funds for the project, working with Mountain Brook Parks and Recreation and Playscapes of Alabama on the design.

 “It’s amazingly kind how so many people have carried a tremendous load and invested a ton of time and money into this project,” Cole said. “For [Cam] to be remembered in such a way that is so positive for the park and matches his personality is really special and redemptive for our family.”

All park areas except the tennis courts will be closed Monday, Sept. 15, through Friday, Sept. 19, at 3 p.m., and a dedication of Cam’s Corner will be held at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 20 — three days after what would have been Cam’s fourth birthday.

The centerpiece of Cam’s Corner will be a red firetruck with a steering wheel on the front end, a slide on the back and monkey bars in between. The side will read “Mountain Brook FD” and bear the department’s logo.

Next to it, a merry-go-round-like spinner and a climbing dome will take the place of the existing seesaw, concrete turtle and zip line extension on the park’s playground.

These new pieces will be accompanied by a sign that reads: “Cam’s Corner: Celebrating a joyful, playful life at Overton Park, in loving memory of Richard Cameron Cole Jr., Sept. 17, 2010-Nov. 11, 2013.”