Crossing with Tim Bolton

HOMETOWN HERO T

he alarm goes off at 6:50 am, the stop sign and wand come out and a few minutes later the car practically drives itself to the corner of Reed Road and King Valley Drive.

Crossing guard Job number one (of six) for the day is to safely make sure all of the kids at King Springs Elementary School get across the street and into the building. Then at 7:50 it’s off to Campbell High School doing the same and then a final stop on Atlanta Road at Campbell Middle School. When the first split shift of the day finishes at around 9:15 it’s time to head to the barber shop and do his thing there. Then a few hours later it’s deja vu all over again but this time in reverse as the three schools let out for the day.

That has pretty much been the daily weekday ritual for Tim Bolton over the last 25 years. If you have children and live anywhere in or near the Smyrna area then you surely know this man, who to many, is simply called “Mr. Tim”.

Back in 1996, a young Bolton was working as a barber in the first black owned barber shop in Smyrna. The owner was a man named Mr. Ripp, who also happened to “moonlight” as the local school crossing guard. A year later Bolton and his wife moved out of the Smyrna area district creating a quandary as they wanted their soon to be children to go to school in Smyrna and especially to attend King Springs Elementary.

Later that year, in 1997, the plan was hatched. The New Jersey native would take over for Mr. Ripp as the local crossing guard for the three local schools and the Bolton kids would eventually be “good to go” in the school district of their liking.

A daughter named India and a son named Myles were born and it all started to come together. In 2003, six years into his crossing guard job, Bolton even became a business owner buying Goodfellas Barber Shop on Concord Road giving him a little more independence to move as he pleased.

Fast forward 25 years since it all began, to present day 2022 and Bolton is still doing his three a days, King Springs Elementary, Campbell Middle School and Campbell High School before and after his “real job” at Goodfellas.

“Academically the foundation of King Springs was priceless. Both of my children have had full academic scholarships and I couldn’t be more thankful to King Springs and the schools they went to. My daughter just graduated (from college) and my son is just starting. I feel like I’m in debt to King Springs,” said Bolton.

I pressed our Hometown Hero on the amazing 25 year run (and still going) from the community aspect and you could see the nostalgia set in.

“I knew I was getting old when I started crossing the kids of the parents who I used to cross years earlier. I even crossed a good majority of the barbers who work with me today. It’s so satisfying. It’s the purest thing I do every day, the laughter of kids. I can’t imagine not doing it anymore.”

And we can’t imagine you not doing it anymore either. Thank you, Tim Bolton, err “Mr. Tim”!

TIM BOLTON

“I knew I was getting old when I started crossing the kids of the parents who I used to cross years earlier. It’s the purest thing I do every day, the laughter of kids. I can’t imagine not doing it anymore.”