editor, inventor, manufacturer, politician, b. Washington, Iowa. In 1866 he moved with his family to Wisconsin, settling in Janesville, where his father, Eugene B. Bolens, edited the Janesville Democrat. Eugene Bolens was connected with several newspapers in the state, and the family moved frequently until settling in Port Washington in 1879. Here, BoIens learned the newspaper business while helping his father edit the Port Washington Star (1879-1886). In 1886 Harry W. Bolens moved to Sheboygan where he edited and published the Sheboygan Daily journaI (1886-1892), and in 1892 returned to Port Washington where he was editor of the Port Washington Star (1894-1895, 1914-1925). An inventor, he obtained patents on chair and fur- niture fixtures, power garden tractors and lawn mowers. He helped organize the Gilson Manfactoring Co., Bolens-Enders Printing Co., and the Plymouth Phonograph Co., and was one of the founders of the Wisconsin Manufacturers' Association, serving as its president for several years. A conservative Democrat, Bolens was mayor of Port Washington (1906-1908, 1910-1914), and as state senator (1933-1940) was credited with helping to develop the Democratic-Republican coalition against the Progressive party. He was the unsuccessful Democratic candidate for governor in 1938. He was opposed to organized labor, higher corporate taxes, and the La Follette public-works program. Wis. BIue Book (1940); Milwaukee Journal, Oct. 24, 1944; Sheboygan Press, Nov. 20, 1935, Oct. 24, 1944; H. W. Bolens Papers.

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[Source: Dictionary of Wisconsin biography]