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Created page with "{{Infobox person | name=Albert Martin "Al" Bolton, Sr. (Louisiana television and radio meteorologist) | birth_date =October 24, 1925 | birth_place=Alexandria, Louisian..."
{{Infobox person
| name=Albert Martin "Al" Bolton, Sr.
(Louisiana television and radio meteorologist)
| birth_date =October 24, 1925
| birth_place=[[Alexandria, Louisiana|Alexandria]], [[Louisiana]], USA
| death_date=April 2, 2014 (aged 88)
| death_place =[[Shreveport]], Louisiana
| death_cause=Complications from a fall
| resting_place=Forest Park Cemetery in Shreveport
| religion=[[Southern Baptist]]
| residence=Shreveport, Louisiana
| spouse=Sandra Walker "Sandy" Bolton (married 1960-2010, her death)
| children=Albert Bolton, Jr.<br>
Amanda Jane Bolton<br>
Ryan Walker Bolton
| parents=Roscoe Conkling and Merle Martin Bolton
| relations=George Washington Bolton (grandfather)<br>
James W. Bolton (uncle)<br>
Albert Bolton (namesake uncle)<br>
[[Robert H. Bolton]] (cousin)<br>
[[James C. Bolton]] (cousin)<br>
Roscoe A. Bolton (brother)
| alma_mater=Bolton High School (Alexandria)
[[Tulane University]]<br>
[[Louisiana College]]
|allegiance=[[United States]]
|branch=[[United States Navy]]
|unit=39th and 47th Infantry<br>and 8th Corps
|serviceyears=1942 to 1945<br>
1950-1953
|battles=[[World War}} in the Pacific Theater of Operations (''USS Hunt''); [[Korean War]] (''USS Rendova}}
'''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, a [[CBS]] television network affiliate; from 1991 to 2001, he performed the same duties for KRMD [[radio]]. 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==
Bolton was the scion of a prominent family from [[Alexandria, Louisiana|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.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://house.louisiana.gov/H_PDFdocs/HouseMembership_History_CURRENT.pdf|title=Membership in the Louisiana House of Representatives from 1812 to 2024|publisher=Louisiana Houise of Representatives|accessdate=June 14, 2020}}</ref> The grandfather was a[[ business]]man 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 [[Southern Baptist|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.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.lahistory.org/resources/dictionary-louisiana-biography/dictionary-louisiana-biography-b/|title=Bolton, George Washington|publisher=''A Dictionary of Louisiana Biography'': Louisiana Historical Association|accessdate=June 14, 2020}}</ref>
Bolton was a son of Roscoe Conkling Bolton and the former Merle Martin.<ref name=roscoe/> 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cenlafocus.com/people/roscoe-and-sue-bolton/|title=Holly Jo Linzay, People: Roscoe and Sue Bolton, May 2011|publisher=cenlafocus.com|accessdate=April 9, 2014}}</ref> 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;<ref name=roscoe>{{cite web|url=http://www.hixsonbrothers.com/memsol.cgi?user_id=868208|title=Life Legacy: Roscoe A. Bolton (brother of Al Bolton)|publisher=hixsonbrothers.com|accessdate=April 9, 2014}}</ref> in 2008, with seventy-seven years tenure, he was the longest-serving member in the world of [[Rotary International]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thetowntalk.com/article/20120927/NEWS01/209270323/Roscoe-Bolton-Alexandria-world-s-longest-serving-Rotarian-dies-99|title=Billy Gunn, Roscoe Bolton of Alexandria, world's longest serving Rotarian, dies at 99|date=September 27, 2014|publisher=''The Alexandria Town Talk''|accessdate=April 9, 2014}}</ref> Al Bolton also had a second brother, Fender Wade Bolton.<ref name=obit/>
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.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.lahistory.org/resources/dictionary-louisiana-biography/dictionary-louisiana-biography-b/|title=Bolton, James W.|publisher=Louisiana Historical Association: ''A Dictionary of Louisiana Biography''|accessdate=June 14, 2020}}</ref>
==College and military years==
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, Louisiana|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.''
==Television and radio==
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.<ref name=obit>{{cite web|url=http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/shreveporttimes/obituary.aspx?n=albert-martin-bolton&pid=170507233&fhid=6593#sthash.yZO8qxbb.dpuf|title=Albert Martin Bolton|publisher=''The Shreveport Times''|accessdate=April 9, 2014}}</ref> Early in his tenure at KSLA Bolton hosted ''Al's Corral'', a [[western]]-themed children's program.<ref name=ksla>{{cite web|url=http://www.wave3.com/story/25147692/local-broadcasting-legend-al-bolton-dies-at-88|title=Carolyn Roy, Local broadcasting legend Al Bolton dies at 88, April 2, 2014|publisher=KSLA-TV|accessdate=April 9, 2014}}</ref> Known for his expertise in [[gardening]], Bolton hosted for several years the weekly segment, "The ArkLaTex Gardener."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ktbs.com/story/25149376/local-broadcaster-al-bolton-dies|title=Local broadcaster Al Bolton dies, April 2, 2014|publisher=[[KTBS-TV]]|accessdate=April 9, 2014}}</ref>
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.<ref name=obit/>
==Legacy==
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.<ref name=obit/> Healso wrote for a local seniors publication.<ref name=ksla/>
Bolton's wife, the former Sandra "Sandy" Walker (1941–2010), a native of Pleasant Hill in Sabine Parish, was a daughter of Chester J. Walker, Jr., and Nora Walker of Ajax in [[Natchitoches, Louisiana|Natchitoches Parish]]. Bolton died four years and one day after the passing of his wife on what would have been their 54th wedding anniversary.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/shreveporttimes/obituary.aspx?n=sandra-walker-bolton&pid=141319132&fhid=6593|title=Sandra Walker Bolton|publisher=''The Shreveport Times''|accessdate=April 9, 2014}}</ref>Al and Sandra Bolton had three children, Albert, Jr., of Haslet near [[Dallas]], Texas, Amanda Jane Bolton of [[Albuquerque]], [[New Mexico]], and Ryan Walker Bolton and wife Angela of Shreveport, and five grandchildren.<ref name=obit/>
In 2014, Bolton died from complications of a fall.<ref name=ksla/> He is interred alongside his wife at Forest Park Cemetery in Shreveport. His honorary pallbearers included [[Bob Griffin (journalist)|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.<ref name=obit/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bobgriffinonline.com/|title=What's This All About?, 2011|publisher=bobgriffinonline.com|accessdate=April 10, 2014}}</ref>Bob Griffin died in 2020.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bolton, Al}}
[[Category:Louisiana People]]
[[Category:Television]]
[[Category:Radio]]
[[Category:World War II]]
[[Category:Korean War]]
[[Category:United States Navy]]
[[Category:Southern Baptists]]
| name=Albert Martin "Al" Bolton, Sr.
(Louisiana television and radio meteorologist)
| birth_date =October 24, 1925
| birth_place=[[Alexandria, Louisiana|Alexandria]], [[Louisiana]], USA
| death_date=April 2, 2014 (aged 88)
| death_place =[[Shreveport]], Louisiana
| death_cause=Complications from a fall
| resting_place=Forest Park Cemetery in Shreveport
| religion=[[Southern Baptist]]
| residence=Shreveport, Louisiana
| spouse=Sandra Walker "Sandy" Bolton (married 1960-2010, her death)
| children=Albert Bolton, Jr.<br>
Amanda Jane Bolton<br>
Ryan Walker Bolton
| parents=Roscoe Conkling and Merle Martin Bolton
| relations=George Washington Bolton (grandfather)<br>
James W. Bolton (uncle)<br>
Albert Bolton (namesake uncle)<br>
[[Robert H. Bolton]] (cousin)<br>
[[James C. Bolton]] (cousin)<br>
Roscoe A. Bolton (brother)
| alma_mater=Bolton High School (Alexandria)
[[Tulane University]]<br>
[[Louisiana College]]
|allegiance=[[United States]]
|branch=[[United States Navy]]
|unit=39th and 47th Infantry<br>and 8th Corps
|serviceyears=1942 to 1945<br>
1950-1953
|battles=[[World War}} in the Pacific Theater of Operations (''USS Hunt''); [[Korean War]] (''USS Rendova}}
'''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, a [[CBS]] television network affiliate; from 1991 to 2001, he performed the same duties for KRMD [[radio]]. 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==
Bolton was the scion of a prominent family from [[Alexandria, Louisiana|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.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://house.louisiana.gov/H_PDFdocs/HouseMembership_History_CURRENT.pdf|title=Membership in the Louisiana House of Representatives from 1812 to 2024|publisher=Louisiana Houise of Representatives|accessdate=June 14, 2020}}</ref> The grandfather was a[[ business]]man 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 [[Southern Baptist|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.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.lahistory.org/resources/dictionary-louisiana-biography/dictionary-louisiana-biography-b/|title=Bolton, George Washington|publisher=''A Dictionary of Louisiana Biography'': Louisiana Historical Association|accessdate=June 14, 2020}}</ref>
Bolton was a son of Roscoe Conkling Bolton and the former Merle Martin.<ref name=roscoe/> 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cenlafocus.com/people/roscoe-and-sue-bolton/|title=Holly Jo Linzay, People: Roscoe and Sue Bolton, May 2011|publisher=cenlafocus.com|accessdate=April 9, 2014}}</ref> 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;<ref name=roscoe>{{cite web|url=http://www.hixsonbrothers.com/memsol.cgi?user_id=868208|title=Life Legacy: Roscoe A. Bolton (brother of Al Bolton)|publisher=hixsonbrothers.com|accessdate=April 9, 2014}}</ref> in 2008, with seventy-seven years tenure, he was the longest-serving member in the world of [[Rotary International]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thetowntalk.com/article/20120927/NEWS01/209270323/Roscoe-Bolton-Alexandria-world-s-longest-serving-Rotarian-dies-99|title=Billy Gunn, Roscoe Bolton of Alexandria, world's longest serving Rotarian, dies at 99|date=September 27, 2014|publisher=''The Alexandria Town Talk''|accessdate=April 9, 2014}}</ref> Al Bolton also had a second brother, Fender Wade Bolton.<ref name=obit/>
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.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.lahistory.org/resources/dictionary-louisiana-biography/dictionary-louisiana-biography-b/|title=Bolton, James W.|publisher=Louisiana Historical Association: ''A Dictionary of Louisiana Biography''|accessdate=June 14, 2020}}</ref>
==College and military years==
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, Louisiana|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.''
==Television and radio==
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.<ref name=obit>{{cite web|url=http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/shreveporttimes/obituary.aspx?n=albert-martin-bolton&pid=170507233&fhid=6593#sthash.yZO8qxbb.dpuf|title=Albert Martin Bolton|publisher=''The Shreveport Times''|accessdate=April 9, 2014}}</ref> Early in his tenure at KSLA Bolton hosted ''Al's Corral'', a [[western]]-themed children's program.<ref name=ksla>{{cite web|url=http://www.wave3.com/story/25147692/local-broadcasting-legend-al-bolton-dies-at-88|title=Carolyn Roy, Local broadcasting legend Al Bolton dies at 88, April 2, 2014|publisher=KSLA-TV|accessdate=April 9, 2014}}</ref> Known for his expertise in [[gardening]], Bolton hosted for several years the weekly segment, "The ArkLaTex Gardener."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ktbs.com/story/25149376/local-broadcaster-al-bolton-dies|title=Local broadcaster Al Bolton dies, April 2, 2014|publisher=[[KTBS-TV]]|accessdate=April 9, 2014}}</ref>
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.<ref name=obit/>
==Legacy==
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.<ref name=obit/> Healso wrote for a local seniors publication.<ref name=ksla/>
Bolton's wife, the former Sandra "Sandy" Walker (1941–2010), a native of Pleasant Hill in Sabine Parish, was a daughter of Chester J. Walker, Jr., and Nora Walker of Ajax in [[Natchitoches, Louisiana|Natchitoches Parish]]. Bolton died four years and one day after the passing of his wife on what would have been their 54th wedding anniversary.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/shreveporttimes/obituary.aspx?n=sandra-walker-bolton&pid=141319132&fhid=6593|title=Sandra Walker Bolton|publisher=''The Shreveport Times''|accessdate=April 9, 2014}}</ref>Al and Sandra Bolton had three children, Albert, Jr., of Haslet near [[Dallas]], Texas, Amanda Jane Bolton of [[Albuquerque]], [[New Mexico]], and Ryan Walker Bolton and wife Angela of Shreveport, and five grandchildren.<ref name=obit/>
In 2014, Bolton died from complications of a fall.<ref name=ksla/> He is interred alongside his wife at Forest Park Cemetery in Shreveport. His honorary pallbearers included [[Bob Griffin (journalist)|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.<ref name=obit/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bobgriffinonline.com/|title=What's This All About?, 2011|publisher=bobgriffinonline.com|accessdate=April 10, 2014}}</ref>Bob Griffin died in 2020.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bolton, Al}}
[[Category:Louisiana People]]
[[Category:Television]]
[[Category:Radio]]
[[Category:World War II]]
[[Category:Korean War]]
[[Category:United States Navy]]
[[Category:Southern Baptists]]