Description

Carl Gillis (1917 - ) was a national Republican Party Committee member for many years beginning in the 1980s, and was a strong supporter of Ronald Reagan. He was a successful businessperson, owning a homebuilding company and later focusing on real estate.; Interviewed by Dr. Mel Steely on August 6, 1990 at an unspecified location.; Gillis begins the conversation by speaking of his ancestry and memories of his childhood and family life. He reflects on the Great Depression and its impact on his family and community. He graduated from Adrian High School in 1934, went on to attend the Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College and then taught school for two years. He speaks about briefly attending the University of Georgia during WWII and his ultimate decision to pursue business in Adrian, Georgia. He began working in the lumber business, eventually making his way into the business of building houses from about 1960 to 1988 and then going into real estate. Gillis speaks to his motivations for continuing to work, despite having gained enough finances over the years to be able to retire comfortably. He then discusses his political philosophy and his eventual conversion to the Republican Party. He speaks of how race and Civil Rights affected the Republican Party and expresses his views on segregation and racism. The conversation then moves to the Vietnam War and Richard Nixon and Gillis speaks of his decision to run for delegation. [segments from tapes 6 and 7 are missing] Gillis then speaks of three...

Record Contributed By

University of West Georgia. Special Collections

Record Harvested From

Digital Library of Georgia