Cotton, A Lindley

I met Lin Cotton with his family coming home from Europe in 1957. He was a cute little boy and I had a crush on one of his older sisters. Next I found him in the log book at the Grand Canyon Thunder River trail about 1973. Many years later I found him in the Castro, don't remember how, and we shared our coming out stories. I was devastated to lose him so soon after we reconnected.

May all of our fallen brothers be in peace. May you travel the universe. You are part of the stars now.

Lin's first two college years were spent at California Western University in San Diego. Lin was always a studious yet smiling, friendly person, the kind that one knew was going to be a success in life, and positively engaged in meaningful social agendas. The world is better off because Lin was part of it.

We visited a north shore Lake Tahoe memorial site near the CA/NV border yesterday and noted a tribute to Lin Cotton. The fire lookout trail off of Lakeview Drive mentions Cotton as a foreword thinking landscape architect, an early proponent of controlled burns, and an advocate to ban the use of fertilizers around the lake. Current and future generations owe a debt of gratitude to Cotton and his efforts to preserve Lake Tahoe as a national treasure. The trail, maintained by the National Forest Service, provides beautiful panoramic vistas of the lake.