Saturday, April 24, 2010
Lubbock
Yesterday we were able to finally contact someone on the staff of the Lubbock Avalanche Journal who wanted to hear about the book. Their book and information is in the mail and they seemed very interested. The second printing was picked up on Thursday from Taylor and has several small corrections from the first printing. Got an order today from Palacios, Texas. Turns out that the person's boss at the Avalanche told them the book was not to be reviewed (email July 13) and to kill the review.
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Clovis Road Second Printing
Taylor Publishing notified us that the second printing of the book is available to be picked up tomorrow. There were three corrections from the first printing only one involved fact. One person commented today that just finished reading the book said that it was very well done. Everyone wants to know why we started the project in the first place. The book has been entered in the Independent Publishers Award contest for this year and will be entered in the Texas Institute of Letters competition for this year also. A representative of the Texas Tech Library system was in Dallas this past weekend and talked with Dana and myself at a local book store for about an hour and a half about the book and its concept.
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Today
Nothing new has happened on the book, lately, but Bob does have an article that is due to come out in a Baylor magazine called "Baylor Proceedings." I don't know if it will just be a review of the anesthesia and medicine that was practiced at the time, or if the editor will elaborate on the story of the book. I hope that the editor does both.
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Jerry Scott Hughes
Yesterday the funeral for the man that wrote the Foreword to Clovis Road was held in Midlothian Texas. Burial was in Garland, Texas. Jerry was remembered as a gentleman and man who had a very full life.
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Disappointment
Today was not the best day that we have had. On Monday, I was sure that many people in Plainview would be interested in buying the book about Mr. LaFont. He was such a nice man, and two of the people that called and ordered a book, told me how much they liked Judge Harold LaFont. Now it has been two days since we have sold one either by phone or through amazon.com. Darla may have sold some more, but Plainview is about an hour away from Littlefield, so more than likely they would order one via telephone or on-line.
On a much more sorrowful note, Bob's best friend, Jerry Hughes, died today at home in Midlothian, Texas. I liked Jerry, too, and I never made myself take the time to go to the hospital while he had surgery and was recovering for about six weeks. The surgery did not improve the quality of his life. Jerry wrote the foreword for our book, Clovis Road. He died from pancreatic cancer. He will be missed.
On a much more sorrowful note, Bob's best friend, Jerry Hughes, died today at home in Midlothian, Texas. I liked Jerry, too, and I never made myself take the time to go to the hospital while he had surgery and was recovering for about six weeks. The surgery did not improve the quality of his life. Jerry wrote the foreword for our book, Clovis Road. He died from pancreatic cancer. He will be missed.
Plainview Herald 3.28.2010
Lifestyles
Bill LaFont has memories of 1943 Littlefield murder 03-28-10
Hayley Cox/Plainview Daily Herald CLOVIS ROAD: Plainview attorney Bill LaFont looks
over a copy of “Clovis Road,” a book about the murders of Dr. Roy Hunt and his wife,
Mae, in Littlefield in 1943. LaFontʼs father, Judge Harold LaFont, was district attorney during
the murder trial as well as a previous trial when Dr. Billy Newton shot Hunt on Clovis Road
outside of Littlefield.
By NICKI BRUCE LOGAN
Herald Lifestyles Editor
Published: Sunday, March 28, 2010 4:12 AM CDT
By NICKI BRUCE LOGAN
Herald Lifestyles Editor
Although he was a toddler when Dr. Roy Hunt and his wife, Mae, were murdered in
Littlefield, Plainview attorney Bill LaFont says he grew up hearing about the trial that riveted
citizens across Texas.
"My father was district attorney at the time," LaFont says in explaining his interest in the story
and how he got involved in a recently-published book that details the murders and
subsequent trials held in Olton and Plainview.
"I grew up hearing talk about the trial. It was quite a famous deal at the time."
He adds that his father planned to write a book about the trials and his involvement "some
day," but didnʼt get around to it.
"Dad tried to get in position to write a book but never took the time to sit down and do it, so
when I was contacted by the Samuelsons, I was interested in helping them."
The Samuelsons are the bookʼs authors, Dr. Robert and Dana Middlebrooks Samuelson of
Dallas, who became fascinated with the murders when Danaʼs mother, Sue Middlebrooks,
told them about a Littlefield doctor and his wife who were killed in their home in the 1940s
while their two young daughters were in the house.
Sue Middlebrooks was nine at the time of the murders and, like LaFont, grew up hearing
about them. Dana graduated from Littlefield High School and, after hearing the story from
her mother, became fascinated with finding the real story behind the murders.
That initial interest led the Samuelsons to the Southwest Collection at Texas Tech
University in Lubbock.
"I had furnished all of Dadʼs records to the Southwest library, and the Samuelsons were
allowed to see about a third of what I had given to the library," LaFont says. "When they
contacted me, I gave them everything I had, made copies from the files . . . transcripts of
the trials."
LaFont says that opening the old files brought back memories for him and he helped the
Samuelsons in their research because he was interested in a book being written, in part
because his father had intended to write one about his experiences.
Research shows that behind the murders was a love/hate triangle that had its roots in
medical school where Roy Hunt and Billy Newton were dating, unbeknownst to each other,
Ruth Nichols, a pretty nursing student with a reputation of being popular with the boys. Ruth
was in love with Roy but he wasnʼt ready to get married, so she married Billy.
Later, Roy married Mae Franks and set up a medical practice in Littlefield. The Newtons
lived at Cameron where Billy Newton practiced medicine.
The plot thickened when Hunt was called out in the middle of the night to meet Ruth Newton
on Clovis Road. Once there, Newton stepped out from behind the car and shot Hunt twice.
Hunt survived by hiding between furrows in a plowed field, then after the Newtons
searched for him and drove away he crawled back to his car and got help.
Newton was charged with attempted murder, and a trial was held in Olton, which was the
Lamb County seat at the time. He was convicted and sentenced to seven years in the
penitentiary.
Still holding a grudge, Newton found Jim Thomas who, according to reports, never claimed
to be anything but a killer.
In October 1943, he entered the Hunt home in Littlefield by climbing in a window, killed
Roy and Mae Hunt and when their young daughter, Jo Ann, came into the room, he
doused her with chloroform and threw her into a closet.
She escaped and went to a neighborʼs house for help.
On a tip, Thomas was arrested in Galveston and was convicted of murder and sentenced to
death in a trail held in Plainview.
The book tells a fascinating tale of Thomasʼ background and criminal history and how he got
involved in the murders.
Bill LaFont remembers his fatherʼs description of Thomas.
"Itʼs interesting that Dad always told me that Jim Thomas was a very nice man — he didnʼt
smoke, he didnʼt drink, he didnʼt cuss — he just killed people."
LaFont also remembers that the story was published in several crime and mystery
magazines popular at the time.
Emotions ran high throughout both trials, and the safety of the beloved district attorney was
in question.
"Dad wore a shoulder holster for six months after the last trial," LaFont says. "Nobody ever
did anything to him that I know of, but he kept a gun . . . wore that shoulder holster . . . for a
while."
("Clovis Road, the Dr. Roy Hunt Murder, Littlefield, Texas 1942-1943, A True Crime
Story," written by Dad Middlebrooks Samuelson and Robert Samuelson, M.D., is
available at Waymoreʼs in Littlefield, at Amazon.com
Bill LaFont has memories of 1943 Littlefield murder 03-28-10
Hayley Cox/Plainview Daily Herald CLOVIS ROAD: Plainview attorney Bill LaFont looks
over a copy of “Clovis Road,” a book about the murders of Dr. Roy Hunt and his wife,
Mae, in Littlefield in 1943. LaFontʼs father, Judge Harold LaFont, was district attorney during
the murder trial as well as a previous trial when Dr. Billy Newton shot Hunt on Clovis Road
outside of Littlefield.
By NICKI BRUCE LOGAN
Herald Lifestyles Editor
Published: Sunday, March 28, 2010 4:12 AM CDT
By NICKI BRUCE LOGAN
Herald Lifestyles Editor
Although he was a toddler when Dr. Roy Hunt and his wife, Mae, were murdered in
Littlefield, Plainview attorney Bill LaFont says he grew up hearing about the trial that riveted
citizens across Texas.
"My father was district attorney at the time," LaFont says in explaining his interest in the story
and how he got involved in a recently-published book that details the murders and
subsequent trials held in Olton and Plainview.
"I grew up hearing talk about the trial. It was quite a famous deal at the time."
He adds that his father planned to write a book about the trials and his involvement "some
day," but didnʼt get around to it.
"Dad tried to get in position to write a book but never took the time to sit down and do it, so
when I was contacted by the Samuelsons, I was interested in helping them."
The Samuelsons are the bookʼs authors, Dr. Robert and Dana Middlebrooks Samuelson of
Dallas, who became fascinated with the murders when Danaʼs mother, Sue Middlebrooks,
told them about a Littlefield doctor and his wife who were killed in their home in the 1940s
while their two young daughters were in the house.
Sue Middlebrooks was nine at the time of the murders and, like LaFont, grew up hearing
about them. Dana graduated from Littlefield High School and, after hearing the story from
her mother, became fascinated with finding the real story behind the murders.
That initial interest led the Samuelsons to the Southwest Collection at Texas Tech
University in Lubbock.
"I had furnished all of Dadʼs records to the Southwest library, and the Samuelsons were
allowed to see about a third of what I had given to the library," LaFont says. "When they
contacted me, I gave them everything I had, made copies from the files . . . transcripts of
the trials."
LaFont says that opening the old files brought back memories for him and he helped the
Samuelsons in their research because he was interested in a book being written, in part
because his father had intended to write one about his experiences.
Research shows that behind the murders was a love/hate triangle that had its roots in
medical school where Roy Hunt and Billy Newton were dating, unbeknownst to each other,
Ruth Nichols, a pretty nursing student with a reputation of being popular with the boys. Ruth
was in love with Roy but he wasnʼt ready to get married, so she married Billy.
Later, Roy married Mae Franks and set up a medical practice in Littlefield. The Newtons
lived at Cameron where Billy Newton practiced medicine.
The plot thickened when Hunt was called out in the middle of the night to meet Ruth Newton
on Clovis Road. Once there, Newton stepped out from behind the car and shot Hunt twice.
Hunt survived by hiding between furrows in a plowed field, then after the Newtons
searched for him and drove away he crawled back to his car and got help.
Newton was charged with attempted murder, and a trial was held in Olton, which was the
Lamb County seat at the time. He was convicted and sentenced to seven years in the
penitentiary.
Still holding a grudge, Newton found Jim Thomas who, according to reports, never claimed
to be anything but a killer.
In October 1943, he entered the Hunt home in Littlefield by climbing in a window, killed
Roy and Mae Hunt and when their young daughter, Jo Ann, came into the room, he
doused her with chloroform and threw her into a closet.
She escaped and went to a neighborʼs house for help.
On a tip, Thomas was arrested in Galveston and was convicted of murder and sentenced to
death in a trail held in Plainview.
The book tells a fascinating tale of Thomasʼ background and criminal history and how he got
involved in the murders.
Bill LaFont remembers his fatherʼs description of Thomas.
"Itʼs interesting that Dad always told me that Jim Thomas was a very nice man — he didnʼt
smoke, he didnʼt drink, he didnʼt cuss — he just killed people."
LaFont also remembers that the story was published in several crime and mystery
magazines popular at the time.
Emotions ran high throughout both trials, and the safety of the beloved district attorney was
in question.
"Dad wore a shoulder holster for six months after the last trial," LaFont says. "Nobody ever
did anything to him that I know of, but he kept a gun . . . wore that shoulder holster . . . for a
while."
("Clovis Road, the Dr. Roy Hunt Murder, Littlefield, Texas 1942-1943, A True Crime
Story," written by Dad Middlebrooks Samuelson and Robert Samuelson, M.D., is
available at Waymoreʼs in Littlefield, at Amazon.com
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Mr. Bill LaFont, Plainview, Texas
Discussed on the phone yesterday with Mr. LaFont in Plainview that the second printing of Clovis Road was ordered 3.29.2010 and should be ready in a few weeks.He is pictured looking at the book from the article in the Plainview Herald on Sunday
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