Lola's House

"Alford had always said, 'Mom, someday I will build you a home.'  Every year, summers I worked in the corn and the grapes.  I also worked in the dates a long time.  I had been saving every board they brought.  I pulled the nails out, stacked the boards, and straightened out the nails.  Everyone asked me--'What are you going to do?'  I said 'Build a home.'

Mr. young, a neighbor, came down to see Joe. He had to have some money.  He was trying to get it through the bank.  He said, 'If I can't get it, I'll sell you 7 1/2 acres of land."  He couldn't get the money so we bought the land.

Every minute I could I would be cleaning up the land.  There was a lot of bushes on it.  I cut and burned them,.  It was a busy time.  I was so happy to think at last I would get a home.

We got the pipe fixtures to put in the plumbing.  Jim had a trailer.  He and Violet came up and hauled gravel and sand.  We borrowed a water tank.  Violet would shovel sand and gravel into the mixer with the cement.  My how we worked.  Finally we got the slab poured.

I worked in the corn and grapes and in the fall the dates.  Every penny I made went into that house.  We really hurried as Alford would be in the service soon .  We had a well drilled on our place.  We put in a small pump for the house and a big pump for the irrigation.  Our house had a kitchen, living room, bath, two bedrooms, and a screen room in the back, 9 X 20 feet.  It was the most beautiful house I ever saw.  How I loved it.  To think at last I had a home.  I said, 'This is the last move I will ever make.  When I leave here it will be when God gets through with me.' "

Lola and Joe in front of their home

Migration to California

Lured by the advertisements offering surplus work and great climate, Joe Cotten moved the family to California in 1930.
"We had beds fixed in our trailer.  We weren't in any hurry.  We really didn't know just where we were going--seen people trying to get someplace.  They didn't know where they were going and didn't have any money.  We didn't know times were so hard.  Joe had worked.  We had a little money.  There was a depression going on.  We saw people standing beside the road, reading the Bible.  

Times were hard.  We came the southern route but in the mountains there was snow.  We finally landed in California.  This side of Yuma, AZ we got into the sand dunes.  Joe said 'The first place I find that there are people, I will stop.'  The 3rd of December, 1930 we stopped in Holtville, California"

Joe and Lola in Oklahoma

Cotten Family about 1930

Joe and Lola were married November 15, 1921 in the back of a barber shop in Elk City, Oklahoma.  The wedding party consisted of the bride and groom, Lola's sister Maude and sister-in-law Drue, one barber, one shoe shining boy, and one guy getting his shoes shined.

During the next 9 years, Joe worked in the oil and cotton fields in Oklahoma and Texas.  Work was scarce, and living conditions were rough as shown from this account from Lola's book:

"Our tent was one mile from anyone.  We had to haul water 1 1/2 miles to use.  One day I gave both the babies a bath.  They went to sleep before I got them dressed.  I laid down and went to sleep also.  Something woke me up,  The tent was full of smoke.  I ran outside thinking the oil rig was on fire but it wasn't - - It was a forest fire.  I got a baby under each arm and ran as fast as I could.  In about 3/4 of a mile there was a place that was pretty clear of brush.  I didn't think I had made it because it was coming so fast.  Again God was helping me for I made it.  I watched and just knew everything had burned up. I walked down to the road.  I was a mile from where we lived.  Some men were working putting up a high line.  My little babies were wanting water.  I asked a man if he had any water.  I told him the fire burned up everything we had.  He said there are 50 men fighting the fire.  Maybe you can get someone to go see if everything is all gone.  He went up and talked to his men.  He came back and said 'I'll take you up there.  If  everything is burned up I'll take you to the store until your husband gets here.'  My little son couldn't walk because I didn't pick up his shoes and the ground was burning yet.  We went back to the tent.  It was still there.  The fire had burned right up to it.  He asked me if I had water.  I told him yes.  I asked him what I owed him.  I told him I had some money in the tent.  He said 'You don't owe me anything.  You did the best thing.  If you would have stayed, the little ones would have died.  You are  a good mother.  All you were thinking about was your children.'  That was a desolate place."

Lola Goldie Rowlan Cotten (1900-1996)

Here is an portion of Lola's eulogy, delivered at Montecito Memorial Park, Colton, CA in January of 1996:
"Sons, daughters, grandchildren, and friends.  We are gathered here today for the promotion of Lola  Cotten, for she has made it home to final resting place with her Lord and Savior.

Lola was born Lola Goldie Rowlan on April 1900.  She married Joseph Cotten in 1921.  He preceded her in death some 28 years ago.  They had 4 boys and 1 daughter.

Lola had been a hard worker all her life.  At the age of 17 she saved her family's farm as both her Mother and Father were ill and she took it upon herself to work 10 hours a day at 15 cents an hour to pay off a $300.00 debt and save the farm.  She said she sometimes was so tired she prayed and cried from the long hours of hard work but never gave up.  Since she was the oldest at home she felt an obligation to keep things together.

She always had time for her children and grandchildren.  Her daughter remembers her Mother holding a grandson on her lap, when a granddaughter asked if she could sit on her lap and she told her "I have room on my lap for all my grandchildren." , that's the kind of grandmother she was.

This lady could cook a great meal out of practically nothing and make it taste like a feast.  She could climb upon the house and help put a roof on it.  I'm sure there wasn't she couldn't do if she put her mind to it.

At age 80, she wrote a book and the end passage reads, "Thank you all my Children and grandchildren for making my life so happy, and when all your lives are over may we all meet in that beautiful place called heaven."

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.