Posted by Bud on December 04, 2009 at 14:14:14:
Harry Volkman will long be remembered as the CBS2 weatherman with the flower pinned to his sport coat. Not as well known is the fact that Harry was one of the very first TV Weatherman in history, starting in Tulsa, Oklahoma in 1950. He came to Chicago nine years later and became a local staple here, doing weather on WMAQ-TV, WGN & WFLD, in addition to his many years on WBBM-TV. Of course, he may be known to the younger crowd as the father to former B96 morning show host, Eddie V.
In today's Chicago Tribune, Vikki Ortiz Healy takes a look at what Mr. Volkman has been doing lately:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Whatever happened to ... weatherman Harry Volkman
Tribune staff report
December 4, 2009
And what ever happened to Harry Volkman, the famous local TV weatherman?
He's 83 and enjoying life in Itasca with his wife after retiring from TV news in 2004, ending a 55-year on-air career.
Volkman arrived in Chicago in 1959 and spent the next several decades reporting the weather on various local stations. Longtime Chicago residents will remember him for his nightly boutonniere -- a flower given to him by students at the school he visited that day.
Volkman estimates that he visited 5,000 schools over the span of his career, sometimes as many as 10 in one week. Students loved to ask him questions like "What's it like to be on TV?" and "Have you met Bozo the Clown?"
After the presentations, he always stayed to sign autographs and shake hands -- and I wasn't the only kid to vow not to wash his or her hand afterward.
"A lot of kids would say that, I got a kick out of it," Volkman said. "My gosh, I signed thousands of autographs. Once in a while I'll run into someone, and they'll say they still have it."
Today, Volkman keeps active in a variety of civic organizations, veterans groups and church activities. He also tries to get to his nine grandchildren's school contests, plays and other events.
"The phone doesn't ring off the wall inviting me to come to a school anymore," Volkman said, but people do still recognize him from time to time at the grocery store.
Many will ask who his favorite present-day meteorologist is, to which Volkman responds, diplomatically, "I watch them all."
-- Vikki Ortiz Healy