Louis Sossamon

The Gaffney Ledger
Gaffney, SC

Destined to be publisher: A family history in Gaffney

Sossamon recalls his roots at The Gaffney Ledger and how times have changed in the newspaper business.

Video Interview

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

Biography

Born: June 2, 1921 in Gaffney, SC
Died: Feb. 11, 2019

Newspaper History:

  • Started at the Gaffney Ledger, 1950
  • Purchased the Gaffney Ledger from his father and became publisher, 1968
  • Retired from the Gaffney Ledger, 1999

Honors and Awards:

  • Won the SCPA’s Freedom of Information Award, 1962
  • President of SCPA, 1968
  • Inducted into the USC Athletics Hall of Fame, 1968
  • Inducted into the SC Athletic Hall of Fame, 1974

Education: 1939-1942 University of South Carolina 

Military Service: Navy (2.5 Years)

Family: Was married to Kathryn Edgerton Sossamon (now deceased), three children, eight grandchildren and six great-grandchildren

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.