Lodl waits 87 years for first coaster ride

by Molly Nicola
Published 10/11/15

Frank Lodl, 87, and Joe Lodl, 83, went to Kansas City a couple months ago to visit their brother, Roy, 85. Son Joe and his family took them.

Frank Lodl, front right, enjoys his first roller coaster at age 87. With him is his brother Joe, 83.

Along the way, they passed Worlds of Fun. Frank saw the roller coaster and mentioned never riding one and that he’d like to try it.

Frank recalls saying, “Look it there. A roller coaster. Let’s stop and go for a ride!”

“I’ll go on it with you, Frankie,” Cherie said. But the driver kept on driving and no one said a word.

No one took it too seriously until Frank mentioned it again after returning home.
Cherie is Frank’s niece, and she put together a photo album for Frank and his brothers with photos of the North Bend area. She included photos of their talking tiles at the North Bend Area Veteran’s Memorial Park and the Morse Bluff sign.

“I wanted to send Cheri a thank you card,” Frank stated, “so I called Kathy, Joe’s wife, to get Cheri’s address, but Kathy told me not to worry about it and that she would tell Cheri for me.”

But besides a “thank you,” Frank had something else to tell Cheri.
“I was going to tell her,” Frank said, “next time we go to Kansas City we will stop and get our roller coaster ride.”

Before Frank knew it, Cheri had made plans, even contacting Worlds of Fun.

“Frank, mark your calendar for Oct. 8,” Cheri said. “You’re going on a roller coaster ride.”

So plans were made.

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