The River House Story

Before the river house was built, the sons of Joe and Lola Cotten would take their families to a public campground near Parker, AZ on the Colorado River.  One particular night it was so hot that Al Cotten decided to sleep near the bank of the river on an air mattress with a damp sheet.  Early the next morning  a neighboring camper decided to take in some target shooting.  Al was awakened by gunfire along with empty shells raining down from the bluff above.  Instinctively, he charged up the hill without a stitch of clothing,  screaming like a wild animal.  The entire campground was awaken to a sight and sound they would not soon forget.

After this experience it was clear to Al that this campground was not a safe place for him and his young family.  He convinced his brothers to join him in building a vacation home near Bullhead City, Az.

The original plans were drawn of the back side of a Monopoly game box lid.

The river house was built in only 24 days (12 weekends)

All the material used in construction was transported each week from 200 miles away.

The lot was discounted in price because it was "pie shaped" and had limited frontage on the river.  The brothers turned this negative into a positive.  Because of his connections with the Army Corps of Engineers (he was a former employee), AJ Cotten was able to secure the variance necessary to permit the cabana.

River House Under Construction 

The River House

Fifty years ago, the sons of Joe and Lola Cotten all pitched in and built a vacation home on the Arizona side of the Colorado River.  A whole generation of grandkids spent their summers here, skiing, fishing, swimming, and sun bathing on the cabana and French's beach.   Each of the four brothers had a private bedroom, and all the kids slept on sleeping bags and mattress pads laid out all over the main room.  We played cards, board games, read books and told stories.  There was no television, no radio, and of course no internet.  We actually had to talk to each other.

The "river house" was the vehicle that kept our family together in those days.

Building the Cabana

Relaxing at the River House - Al getting a foot massage from his Mom and Brother Jim

Cotten-Rowlan Genealogy

The search for our ancestors begins with Joe and Lola Cotten.  Our family history predates the Pilgrims and chronicles the history of our nation. The research is ongoing and incomplete.  There are mysteries we will have to leave for future generations to solve. 

Why care about all these dead people?  For us it provides a meaningful experience that is both personal and spiritual.  When we discover great and heroic persons among our ancestors, the sense of kinship can provide a source of strength and encouragement and serve as an anchor point and source of commitment. 

As we relate the stories and histories of our family, we will omit the names of living persons to protect their privacy, and only relate stories that are at least 50 years old to minimize our bias.

A Sailor's Story, Part 3

The commanding officer of the PT 373, Lt. Belton Copp, volunteered to lead a two boat squadron into Manila Bay to "test defenses" of the harbor.  Here is an excerpt of the report he filed with Navel Command:

"At 0030 after passing through enemy formation and coming right to retire, we were hit by enemy fire coming from the port quarter. We suffered numerous .51 Cal. hits on the stern which exploded a 40MM shell causing 3 men to be wounded by shrapnel, the port turret machine gun was hit putting it out of commission, two hits on the gas tank, numerous hits on the cockpit, severely wounding OTC, Lt  (lg) COPP, and causing fire in starboard 50 Cal. ready box in charthouse, and 1 hit on the bow causing instantaneous death to SENESE, A.O. slc."

Lt. Copp lost his left arm.  Even injured and under heavy fire he was able to lead his damaged vessel safely to Subic Bay.  A student of the classics, Copp's escape was inspired by Homer's Odyssey.  He maneuvered the 373 abreast of a large Japanese freighter just as Odysseus and his men hung under sheep at the entrance guarded by the Cyclops.  Being inches away from the big ship shielded them from mines, the guns from Corregidor, and the freighter's armament.

General McArthur honored Lt. Copp and the crew of the 373 by using it to carry him back to Manila Harbor one month later.

General McArthur on PT 373

AJ Cotten received the purple heart for service to his country

A. Jay Cotten (1971-2013)

A Jay Cotten (son of Richard "Rick" Cotten and grandson of AJ Cotten) was killed May 16th by a suspected drunk driver.

A. Jay Cotten's car overheated on the 202 when he was on his way home from work.
He pulled over just to put water in his car. That's when officers say a drunk driver hit him.
42-year-old A. Jay Cotten, a father of three, was killed trying to fix his car on the side of the 202. He thought it would be a quick fix, but seconds later an SUV swerved into him.
"He wasn't just a man under a tarp or someone who caused an interruption on the freeway he was family," says Laura Laide, victim's sister-in-law.
Laura Laide says her sister had been married to him for more than 20 years.
"He was a wonderful father and a wonderful brother and a husband that anyone would die for."
Officers say 46-year-old Liane Corwin was driving drunk. She was arrested on a charge of reckless manslaughter, a class two felony.
DPS says her blood alcohol level was more than twice the legal limit as she drove down the 202 during rush hour Thursday night.
"Why, why do it, why get behind the wheel, why risk doing what you've just done to our family."
Laide says her brother-in-law knew the car had been overheating but he'd been unemployed for months and had just gotten a new job in construction. Cotten made the choice to go to his new job and put a gallon of water in back of the car just in case. His second day on the job -- and he never made it home.

"There's time in our lives that he was the only one who could get us through some things. He was an amazing person."

The family is now worried about how they're going to give him a proper burial.  He had been unemployed and times have been tough.

As for Liane Corwin, she's being held on a $108,000 bond.

To help: A fund has been set up for the family.  Just go to any Wells Fargo Branch in the Phoenix Valley and ask to donate to the "A. Jay Cotten Memorial Fund."

A Sailor's Story, Part 2

PT 373

Shortly before he died, AJ Cotten was asked some questions regarding his experiences on PT 373 in a taped oral history interview.  Here is a partial transcript::

"That 40 millimeter was where I got hit.  The bullet hit the full ammunition  cannon only one projector blew up.  My own shells what got me.  It blew up when the bullet hit it.  The ammunition sack was right under the seat under me, I'm firing the gun. 

That was Corregidor  Manila Bay.  We was the first US navel vehicle to go back inside Manila Bay.  We went in to take pictures, and got the shh shot out of us.  Thirteen people on the boat and there was only three that didn't get hit.  

A Sailor's Story, Part 1

AJ Cotten (Eldest of Joseph and Lola Cotten) answered duty's call and served our country in World War II.  Like his father before him, he enlisted with the US Navy. This account, taken from Lola Cotten's book, shows the fears and frustrations that face mothers and wives who wait for the safe return of their men from the battlefield:

September 1943 Albert and Jo came to see us.  It was the first time Jo had been to our place.  I just couldn't get a letter from A.J.  I said, "Something has happened to A.J."  Albert said, "No news is good news.  Lola, it's not like you to be that way.  You have always taken everything."

The second of September, Luella, Joe, and the children went to the mailbox.  They said, "We bring you a letter!"  and when they came back the horn was blowing and all were hollering.  They had gotten a letter.  It was Jo's birthday the Second, and I was cooking her a dinner.  I tore open the letter.    He started, "Dear Mom.  I have been wounded.  I wanted you to know.  I expect I'll be sent home on a hospital ship."  Who ate the birthday dinner.  I don't know.  I just took off and didn't return for quite a while - -for I knew they don't ship people back unless they were hurt bad.  We didn't get a letter from the Navy for two months.  The letter said, " Your son has been wounded but he's alive and will recover."