Carl Kilgus

The Advertizer-Herald
Bamberg, SC

Long-time weekly publisher, community leader

Kilgus started career with handset type.

Video Interview

This video has been edited for length. If you’d like to listen to the full raw audio from our interview with Carl Kilgus, contact SCPA.

Biography

Born: November 9, 1928 in Bamberg
Died: January 17, 2014 

Newspaper History:

  • The Bamberg Herald, 14 years
  • Kilgus Printing Company
  • The North Trade Journal, 1957-present
  • The Advertizer
  • The Advertizer-Herald, 1973- present
  • The Santee Striper, 1987-present 

Honors and Awards:

  • Bamberg City Council
  • Commissioner for the Bamberg Board of Public Works, 25 years
  • Citizens Advisory Board at Bamberg Job Corps charter member, 26 years
  • Appointed in 1988 by Gov. Carroll Campbell to serve on the State Permanent Advisory Commission
  • Named in 1997 by Gov. David Beasley as a South Carolina Ambassador for Economic Development
  • Chairman of the Bamberg County -Economic Development Commission
  • Bamberg County Airport commission
  • Bamberg Fire Department, 30 years
  • Bamberg Rescue Squad charter member
  • Boy Scouts of America Silver Beaver Award, 1979
  • Citizen of the Year for Bamberg County, 1979
  • Volunteer of the Year for Bamberg County, 2003
  • Superintendent of the Adult 1 Sunday School Department of First Baptist Church in Bamberg, 30 years

Education: Bamberg High School

Military Service: Bamberg National Guard, 12 years

Family: Wife, Betty Kilgus 

SCPA's oral history project is dedicated to preserving the heritage of our state's journalists and newspapers.

This program is funded by the South Carolina Humanities Council, whose mission is to enrich the cultural and intellectual lives of all South Carolinians. This program is co-sponsored by the University of South Carolina’s School of Journalism and Mass Communications.