Doctors Dealt Drugs In Lamb County

 Lamb County Leader News September 27, 1938

Today one can read in the most recent press release of the Texas Medical Board on June 28, 2013 about Texas doctors having their narcotic permits removed or suspended for illegal distribution of narcotics, i.e "was arrested for transporting marijuana for drug traffickers and used drugs recreationally." This has gone on for years. Turn the clock back to the late 1930s, and the rules were being broken at that time so close to Littlefield that one could not help take notice. The  office of sheriff of Lamb county was vacated in 1935 because of violation of public trust and a federal conviction. The new sheriff had to be appointed. Sam Hutson, who would be sheriff in Lamb County at the time of the Dr. Roy Hunt murder, was under suspicion and investigated in 1935. The notice in the paper on September 27, 1938 of a Lamb county doctor  having federal charges brought against him must have shocked the citizens. Read Clovis Road II and see how Dr. Billy Newton and +Dr. Roy Hunt were involved in "dope ring" issues in the 1940s. Write to Highgate Publishing and send $36.81 in check or money order to receive your copy.

Clovis Road Authors

Robert J. Samuelson and Dana Middlebrooks Samuelson

       +Dana Middlebrooks Samuelson and her husband, +Dr. Robert John Samuelson, became extremely intrigued with the Hunt murder story when Dana’s mother, +Danny Sue Middlebrooks, told them about a Littlefield doctor and his wife being murdered in their own home in the 1940s. Dana’s mother was nine at the time of the murders, and she didn’t remember much, except what her mother had mentioned about it. Dana and Bob were immediately drawn to the story, as Dana had been delivered on June 22, 1956 in the Littlefield Hospital by +Dr. Fred Janes, Jr., Dr. Hunt’s best friend. Dana grew up in Littlefield,  and her grandmother, Mrs. Martha Powell, was a nurse in the same hospital that Dr. Hunt practiced in for many years. Dana’s father had worked for Pantex during World War II when Herbert Deere, Jim Thomas' friend and killer, worked there.
    Dana’s husband,  Robert, graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a  B. S. in Pharmacy, attended graduate school, and then entered Southwestern Medical School in 1967. He graduated with high honors and A.O.A. in 1971. He completed his internship and residency in anesthesiology in 1974 at Parkland Hospital in Dallas. He then served in the U. S. Army  and was discharged with the rank of major and an Army Commendation Medal. In 1976, he began medical practice with Dallas Anesthesiology Associates.  He then attended two years of graduate studies at Dallas Theological Seminary.
    Dana attended Littlefield High School, South Plains College, Texas Tech University, and graduated from the University of North Texas in 1981. She worked for Pennwalt Corporation, Abbott Laboratories, and CIBA-Giegy Pharmaceutical from 1981 to 1992 as a pharmaceutical representative. She worked as a sales representative in the Apparel Mart in Dallas from 1979 to 1982. She has accomplished catalog, print, and runway modeling as well as Arabic dancing. She did three years of graduate studies in  psychology and was recognized in a writing concept contest by the Dallas Morning News.
    Dana and Robert married in 1989, and they share interests in medicine, genealogy, Littlefield, true crime, and Texas history. That background and all the coincidences in the story later discovered while researching the Dr. Roy Hunt murders, gave them the motivation, desire, and passion to write all of the story that has not been fully revealed to the public until now.  The Samuelsons previously published Common Ground the Wheat and the Chaff in 2005. Clovis Road II is available by writing Highgate Publishing, 6257 Highgate Lane, Dallas, Texas 75214 with $36.81 check or money order.

Dana Middlebrooks Samuelson - Author - Clovis Road

1943 Nursery Window, Roy E. Hunt Home Littlefield, Texas

Dana Middlebrooks Samuelson at Nursery Window in 2009

Brick From Roy E. Hunt Home

The single feature of the Hunt home in Littlefield, Texas that should not be missed is an examination of the nursery window on the south side of the house . That window is pictured on page 159 of Clovis Road I and page 200 of Clovis Road II. That original photo was taken by Lubbock Investigator Aubrey Fawver on October 26, 1943 and shows the point of entry for +James C. Thomas at the time he murdered the Hunts. The small child’s chair that was introduced into evidence at trial is resting underneath the open window on the original photo. The author, +Dana Middlebrooks Samuelson, is shown standing at that entry window. A brick from the Hunt home purchased by Roy in 1938 has a  characteristic color and texture.

Waylon Jennings Birth In 1937 Littlefield, Texas

Waylon Arnold Jennings was born June 15, 1937 in Littlefield, Texas. He became an American song writing legend after leaving Littlefield at age 15. He died February 13, 2002 of complications of diabetes. Working with Waylon’s widow and his son the Waylon Jennings Research Fund was established. Contributions go to TGen’s research, and can be made at https://www.tgenfoundation.org/NetCommunity/Page.aspx?pid=1090&frcrld=1
 Waylon’s Second Annual 2013 Birthday Bash was held June 7 and 8th in Whiteface, Texas with proceeds going to the Waylon Fund. Darla K. Jennings is shown enjoying the music at the bash in a press photo on page 5 of the June 12, 2013 Lamb County Leader News. Besides the music there was a barbecue cook-off and a motorcycle fun ride. The Waylon Jennings Museum is located at +Darla K. Jenning’s “Waymore’s” at 901 East Hall Street in Littlefield.  Highgate Publishing encourages you to make a contribution in memory of Waylon, visit Waymore's, and see the exhibits. When Waylon was born in 1937 the Littlefield Hospital and the Medical Arts Hospital were just being built.

Waylon Jennings 1937-2002 From TGen by Melinda Wickman

Jackie Newton On Hunt Murder

Writer Dana Middlebrooks Samuelson Interviews Jackie Newton 2012

In late 2012 we drove on a fall day to the Gulf Coast of Texas to interview +Jackie Newton. She is pictured at her wedding to Dr. Billy Newton’s son, Bill, in 1966 on page 161 of Clovis Road II. Dana had corresponded with her and they visited on the phone several times prior to the interview.
    After a wonderful dinner at Spoonbills Restuarant, we adjourned to her home to continue the interview and to view exhibits she had gathered. The next morning we got together again at her home, restarted the interview, and then took a break and drove to the beach and had lunch together at the River Bend Cafe. Jackie is a wonderful hostess, full of life, and is very interested in the Hunt murders. As you can see in the text of Clovis Road II she provided many details of +Ruth Nichols Newton’s life and recounted a confession by Ruth for the Hunt murders, both the original shooting in 1942 and hiring a hit man in 1943.

Clovis Road II Direct Sales

Dana Middlebrooks Samuelson - Independent Writer

Dana says: If you want to get a copy of Clovis Road II  The Dr. Roy Hunt Murder, Littlefield, Texas  1942-1943 order it by direct mail from Highgate Publishing 6257 Highgate Lane, Dallas, Texas 75214 with a check or money order for $36.81. The first edition of Clovis Road is also available for $33. Copies of the first edition appear on the web at vastly inflated prices. Get yours today from Highgate while supplies last! Follow the progress of the motion picture production of the +Dr. Roy Hunt murder here on this blog.

Dana Middlebrooks Samuelson - Independent Writer

Clovis Road Fans Visit Dallas

Terry and Sandra Smith - Dana and Robert Samuelson

The Samuelsons, authors of Clovis Road, spent the evening of June 1, 2013 at dinner in Dallas with +Terry D. Smith and his lovely wife Sandra of Granbury, Texas. The occasion was a two and a half hour update on the release of Clovis Road II and report on the progress of the movie project. We met at Al Biernat's for dinner. They also shared stories about grandchildren (4), his new homes under construction (2), and their plans for trips to Tuscany and the southern Caribbean. Terry D. Smith is a 1965 Littlefield High School graduate, and he builds custom homes in the Granbury area. +Sandra Wylder Smith is a senior sales manager for a hotel and spa in Santa Fe. The Smiths are great fans of the Clovis Road epic. Terry also reported on a recent visit to Littlefield where his father, Otis Smith ran "Smitty's Barber Shop" and his mother Velma ran a women's apparel store, the "Fashion House" when Terry grew up there.

Sandra Smith and Dana Samuelson

Terry and Sandra Smith with Dana Samuelson