Albert Douglas Bolens was a Stalwart Republican newspaper editor and publisher in Port Washington, Wisconsin. “A.D.,” as he was known, was born in Washington County, Iowa on Christmas Day, 1861. In 1865, the family moved to Wisconsin when the father, Eugene B. Bolens, received the state printing contract. Bolens received his education in his father's printing shop and in the public schools until his father's health forced Bolens to quit school at the age of fifteen and devote all of his time to the family printing business.
Bolens published at least five newspapers during his career in Port Washington: the Port Washington Star, the Wisconsin Statesman, the Ozaukeean, the Grafton Enterprise, and the Modern Press. Of the five, the first two, the Star and the Statesman, were used by Bolens as vehicles for political editorials. The Star was published as a weekly country newspaper and followed the usual format for such papers by publishing local news items of all types. The Statesman, on the other hand, was an out and out political organ which made few attempts at any news coverage outside of the political field. The Statesman began as a weekly in 1926 and later changed to monthly publication. In 1933, Bolens suggested that he publish his paper as a daily to serve as the conservative Republican organ in the state, but the suggestion received no support and the Statesman remained a monthly.
An example of Bolens' activities during the period is the 1928 campaign, when he supported Walter J. Kohler for Governor and carried on an extensive correspondence with Party leaders in the hope of securing Kohler's nomination and election. During the summer of 1928, Bolens sold the Star and moved to Sheboygan, where he continued to publish the Statesman. The paper was not in a strong financial position and Bolens tried to interest Kohler in investing in the paper. Kohler refused to become involved to the extent of actually investing money in the paper. Nonetheless the Kohler Company continued to place advertising in the paper and to pay for subscriptions for as many as one hundred persons whose names the Company supplied to Bolens. This form of subsidy was also practiced by other firms, notably the Falk Co., Allis-Chalmers, and others who felt that it would be unwise to become directly involved in the ownership of the Statesman. The state Republican Party also refused to give direct financial help to Bolens, though he often approached the Party for money. The Party, like the industrialists, limited its support to endorsing the paper and the cause for which it stood, and furnishing names of persons who would be likely subscribers.
Bolens' political influence was, for all practical purposes, limited to the editorials that he wrote. He was an active Party worker and the County Chairman of the Republican Party in Ozaukee County for a number of years, and he ran for the Assembly in the 1932 primary but did not get the nomination. Throughout his career, it is evident from his correspondence that Bolens sought political favors, but the favors granted were few and of no great importance. Apparently, the party leaders and office holders felt that Bolens' editorials were useful but not so important as to warrant a political appointment. The one reward that Bolens did receive for his services and which he valued highly was an appointment as an honorary Colonel on Governor Julius P. Heil's military staff.
