Golden 50 - 2022

Nonnie Barton,
Fayette County Record, LaGrange

In 1972, at the age of 19, Nonnie Barton was hired by Editor-Publisher Larry Power of The Deer Park Progress to sell advertising. After her marriage to Dickie Barton in April of that year, she was interested in learning all she could about the newspaper business. Dickie was employed in the display advertising department of The Baytown Sun while attending the University of Houston to attain his Journalism degree. Dick Barton, her father-in-law, was editor-publisher of the Herald Coaster in Rosenberg where he had been for 16 years.
When Dick Barton Sr. decided to purchase his own newspaper, it made sense for Nonnie and Dickie to join him in his venture. The Fayette County Record in La Grange was purchased in 1976 when Barton became the third owner and publisher since its beginnings in 1922.
As a family business, Barton Sr. became the publisher, Dickie was advertising manager and Nonnie was production manager, doing the “paste up” of the ads and newspaper pages. This was when scissors, single edge razor blades, border tape, clip art books and a waxing machine were tools of the trade.
Nonnie also took on the duties of corporate bookkeeper, managing all bookkeeping responsibilities excluding accounts receivable. This is the job she has held for 46 years at The Fayette County Record.
Still a family owned newspaper, Dickie Barton became publisher in 1988 after his Dad’s retirement. Larry Jackson was named publisher in 2007 after Dickie’s untimely death in an automobile accident in 2006. Regina Barton Keilers, Nonnie’s sister-in-law, became publisher after Larry retired in 2012 and holds that title today.
Nonnie has been a member of Texas Press Association, South Texas Press Association and Gulf Coast Press Association over the years and has attended most conferences since 2004.
In 2014, Nonnie was asked to join the board of directors of the Texas Gulf Coast Press Association as treasurer. It is a position she still holds today.
Nonnie continues to work at the newspaper remotely from her home in Richmond. Email, snail mail, on-line banking and direct deposit make it possible to handle all bookkeeping duties from her home office. Being semi-retired, she has time to enjoy her two children’s families including five grandchildren.
Reflecting on her 50-year career, Nonnie said “I’m so glad I got involved in the newspaper business, it’s been interesting and fun.  I’ve met so many wonderful people both on the job and at the newspaper conventions.  I feel like my newspaper friends are “family” and we really look out for each other.”

Mary Henkel Judson,
Port Aransas South Jetty
“Newspaper brat” is an accurate description of Mary Henkel Judson, but her official title is editor and co-publisher of the Port Aransas South Jetty.
As the daughter of newspaper publishers “Cap” and “Kitty” Henkel, Judson cut her teeth making rounds with her father as he took photos, conducted interviews and sold ads for what was then the Robstown Record, owned by the late Marion Fore Keach. One of her earliest memories was at the age of 7 walking through the streets of Robstown during the “eye” of Hurricane Carla in 1961, trailing her father as he shot photos of the damage with his Polaroid camera. Her job was to “squeegee” the photos once they magically “developed” right before her eyes. 
Judson’s mother was a strong role model and one of the early feminists before the word entered the lexicon. Because of her mother, it never occurred to Judson that she could be limited by her gender.
The family moved to Refugio in 1963 when her father became publisher of the Refugio County Press. There, Judson found her first paying job as a columnist for the Press. A fifth-grade student, she wrote “Junior Beat” about the comings and goings of elementary and middle school students. She went on to write a similar column as a student at Refugio High School.
Judson attended Southwest Texas State University in San Marcos and worked for the Buckner family at the San Marcos Record when it was a weekly and again after it transitioned to a daily. She later transferred to the University of Texas where she majored in journalism. At UT, she was fortunate to be a student of the late Dr. Martin L. “Red” Gibson and Griff Singer. Both were -- and Singer continues to be -- strong and supporting influences.
As a student at UT, Judson secured an internship in the summer of 1974 at the Corpus Christi Caller-Times.
It was in the newsroom at the Caller-Times where she met her future husband, Murray Judson, a staff photographer. After another semester at UT, Judson went to work for Jim and Helen Tracy at the San Patricio County News in Sinton. She and Murray began dating, and the couple married in April 1976. A month later, they moved to Refugio where they assumed editor and publisher positions at the Refugio County Press from her parents, who found it a convenient time to retire.
In 1981, the Judsons bought the South Jetty, followed by the purchase of the Refugio County Press, and later were managing partners at the Goliad Advance-Guard.
They made their home in Port Aransas in 1983, soon after the birth of their daughter, Libby, in December 1982. They eventually sold the Press and relinquished their role at the Advance-Guard.
During her days as an active reporter in Port Aransas, Judson covered everything from giant beached whales to the plight of Cuban refugees, contentious city councils and scuffling school boards. She now devotes full time to being the editor of the South Jetty. The newsroom has grown to a staff of three: a news editor/reporter, a reporter and a staff writer.
One of the greatest challenges of Judson’s career was covering Hurricane Harvey in August 2017. Port Aransas was devastated by the category 4 storm that struck between Port Aransas and Rockport. Technology meant the difference between publishing a newspaper or not. During the six weeks from the time the storm struck and when power and internet were restored in Port Aransas, the South Jetty never missed an edition. The first post-hurricane edition was assembled at the home of one of Judson’s brothers in Kingsville, with staff contributing from their evacuation posts throughout the state. After that, the newspaper was published for the next five weeks out of a condo on North Padre Island, 18 miles south of Port Aransas. While the South Jetty office and the Judson’s home suffered relatively minor damage, some staff members’ homes were seriously damaged or destroyed.
In addition to dealing with the many opportunities presented by weekly newspaper publishing, Judson made time to serve the newspaper associations to which the South Jetty belongs.
She served as president of the South Texas Press Association (1979-80 –the second woman to hold that office) and the Texas Gulf Coast Press Association (1994-95 and again in 2012-13 when she and Murray served as co-presidents). She currently serves as assistant to the president for both STPA and TGCPA.
Judson was first appointed to the Texas Press Association board of directors by the late Fred Barbee, publisher of the El Campo Leader-News, in 1978 when he was president. She served as an elected and appointed director before she was elected second vice president in 1988, the first woman to hold office in the then-110-year-old association. She rose to first vice-president in 1989, and in 1990 became the first woman elected president of TPA.
In 2013, she became the second woman inducted into the Texas Newspaper Foundation Hall of Fame, following TPA’s 118th president, the late Sarah L. Greene, in 2010.
In 2010, she and Murray were named recipients of the Chester Evans Award by the South Texas Press Association in appreciation for long service to the association. In 2016, she was inducted into the Texas Gulf Coast Press Association’s Hall of Honor.
Under the Judson’s leadership, both the Refugio County Press and the South Jetty have been consistent winners in regional, state and national newspaper competitions.
Judson’s career has spanned the eras of newspaper production in hot type, cold type, desktop publishing, the digital age and the advent of social media.
“It’s been and continues to be a great adventure. It’s exciting – sometimes scary – to be sitting on the front row of history as it unfolds not only in our community, but in the newspaper industry as well,” Judson said.
As a newspaper brat, Judson said she has been fortunate to be mentored and taught by so many newspaper legends, too many to name. “However, anything I do well, it is because of them. My shortcomings are my own doing,” Judson said.
From the moment they married, the Judsons have worked side-by-side, navigating their marriage and their careers.
“Our skill sets are complimentary, and I credit Murray for getting us through some tough financial times over the past 45 years. It has been nothing short of a wild adventure,” Mary Judson said.
“It has been an honor to serve our communities through our newspapers, which we continue to do through the South Jetty. It has been, and continues to be, a privilege I treasure to serve both TGCPA and STPA as well as TPA,” she said.