Al Bolton

Albert Martin “Al” Bolton​, Sr. (Louisiana pioneering television and radio meteorologist)
Bolton in his early days of weather reporting
Born	October 24, 1925​ Alexandria, Louisiana, USA​
Died	April 2, 2014 (aged 88)​ Shreveport, Louisiana​
Spouse(s)	Sandra Walker "Sandy" Bolton (married 1960–2010, her death)
Relations	Rosecoe Conkling Bolton (father) Merle Martin Bolton (mother) George Washington Bolton (grandfather) ​James W. Bolton (uncle) ​Albert Bolton (namesake uncle) ​Robert H. Bolton (cousin) ​James C. Bolton (cousin) ​Roscoe A. Bolton (brother)
Children	Albert Bolton, Jr. ​Amanda Jane Bolton ​Ryan Walker Bolton​
Residence	Shreveport, Louisiana​
Alma mater	Bolton High School (Alexandria)​ Tulane University ​Louisiana College​
Religion	Southern Baptist ​
Military Service
Allegiance	United States
Service/branch	United States Navy
Years of service	1942 to 1945 1950–1953
Battles/wars	World War II in the Pacific Theater of Operations (USS Hunt); Korean War​ (USS Rendova)
Awards	World War II Victory Medal Two Battle Stars in Korea

Albert Martin Bolton, Sr., known as Al Bolton (October 24, 1925 – April 2, 2014), was for forty-seven years a television or radio meteorologist from his adopted city of Shreveport, Louisiana. From 1954 to 1991, he was the first weather anchor for KSLA, the CBS television network affiliate; from 1991 to 2001, he performed the same duties for KRMD radio.^[1]

From these positions and his widespread civic activities, Bolton gained wide recognition throughout northwestern Louisiana as well as nearby counties in East Texas and southwestern Arkansas.

Family ties[edit]

Bolton was the scion of a prominent family from Alexandria in Rapides Parish in Central Louisiana. His grandfather, George Washington Bolton (1841-1931), was a two-term member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from 1888 to 1896 and the House Speaker in the second term from 1892 to 1896 during the administration of the first Governor Murphy James Foster, Sr.^[2] The grandfather was a businessman and banker who founded the former Rapides Bank and Trust Company in Alexandria, which later merged into Bank One Corporation. In 1900, he was the first president of the Louisiana Bankers Association. He was one of the founders of the large Emmanuel Baptist Church in downtown Alexandria. G. W. Bolton, a member of the Rapides Parish School Board, died about the time that his grandson Al was entering West End Elementary School.^[3]​

Bolton was a son of Roscoe Conkling Bolton and the former Merle Martin.^[4] His name is derived from a combination of a paternal uncle, Albert Bolton, who died in 1882 shortly after his first birthday, and his mother's maiden name. Roscoe Conkling Bolton was an insurance agent in Alexandria, who established a company in 1911 that became in 1926 Alexander & Bolton. The firm originally operated in the Rapides Bank Building but acquired its own facility in 1961 on Jackson Street.^[5] Alexander & Bolton operated after 1933 under the supervision of Bolton's older brother, Roscoe A. Bolton (1913–2012). The company was sold in 2008 and became Brown & Brown, Inc. Roscoe A. Bolton was hence an insurance agent for seventy-five years;^[4] in 2008, with seventy-seven years tenure, he was the longest-serving member in the world of Rotary International.^[6] Al Bolton also had a second brother, Fender Wade Bolton.^[7]​

Another uncle, James Wade Bolton (1869-1936), was also a banker and school board member. Cousins James C. Bolton and Robert H. Bolton, sons of James W. Bolton, continued the family banking and civic heritage. Al Bolton graduated in June 1942 from Bolton High School in Alexandria's Garden District. The school is named for his uncle James, who was an 18-year president of the Rapides Parish School Board.^[8]

College and military years[edit]

After high school, Bolton enrolled at Tulane University in New Orleans, where he was a member of Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity. He entered the Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps and was called to duty while still at Tulane. He served in the Pacific Theater of Operations aboard the destroyer, USS Hunt. After World War II ended, Bolton returned home. In July 1949, he completed his education at Baptist-affiliated Louisiana College in Pineville, which his brother Roscoe had also attended for a time. During the Korean War, Bolton returned to duty aboard the aircraft carrier, the USS Rendova.​^[7]

Television and radio[edit]

Bolton did not follow in the tradition of his family's insurance and banking firms but instead relocated to Shreveport in February 1954 to join KSLA-TV, only a month after the station went on the air. He was the on-air meteorologist for thirty-seven years - until August 1991. He then spent another decade as the weather reporter for KRMD radio. His face and voice were known to generations of viewers and listeners.^[7] Early in his tenure at KSLA Bolton hosted Al's Corral, a western-themed children's program.^[9] Known for his expertise in gardening, Bolton hosted for several years the weekly segment, "The ArkLaTex Gardener."^[10]​

In August 1970, the National Weather Service in Shreveport honored Bolton with its "Centennial Award" for weather reporting, named for the 100th birthday of the agency itself. Bolton attended weather reporting workshops in Norman, Oklahoma, and Slidell in St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana. In 1982, Bolton received the "Seal of Certification" from the National Weather Association for "performance well above the media and meteorological standards." The next year he was similarly honored by the American Meteorological Society. In July 1990, Ernest Ethridge, the official in charge of the National Weather Service Shreveport office, presented him with a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association Special Service Award for his the totality of his work since 1954.^[7]

Legacy[edit]

Like virtually all of the Alexandria-based Boltons, Al Bolton was Southern Baptist and a member of the Broadmoor Baptist Church in Shreveport. While his brother Roscoe had set the world Rotary service record, Al Bolton was active for more than three decades in Optimist International, which reflected the positive aspects of himself. From 1990 to 2005, Bolton was the emcee of the Shreveport Metropolitan Concert Band.^[7] He also wrote for a local seniors publication.^[9]​

Bolton's wife, the former Sandra "Sandy" Walker (1941–2010), a native of Pleasant Hill in Sabine Parish in western Louisiana, was a daughter of Chester J. Walker, Jr., and Nora Walker of Ajax in Natchitoches Parish. Bolton died four years and one day after the passing of his wife on what would have been their 54th wedding anniversary.^[11]​Al and Sandra Bolton had three children, Albert, Jr., of Hasletin the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, Amanda Jane Bolton of Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Ryan Walker Bolton and wife Angela of Shreveport, and five grandchildren.^[7]​

In 2014, Bolton died from complications of a fall.^[9] He is interred alongside his wife at Forest Park Cemetery in Shreveport. His honorary pallbearers included Bob Griffin, the long-term KSLA sports editor who came to the station in 1961, when Don Owen and Al Bolton were still in their early years as what developed as long-term news and weather anchors.^[7][12]​ Bob Griffin died in 2020.

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