PHOTO: Billy Bob Thornton at the Newport Beach TV Festival at Lido Theater on June 7, 2025, in Newport Beach, California. | Shutterstock Images
By JOE MAY | The Southern Standard
Actor and director Billy Bob Thornton was the guest speaker at the December 2025 meeting of the Clark County Historical Association.
Sort of.
Thornton, who spent the first eight years of his life in Alpine with his grandmother, Maude Faulkner, sent a video clip to the CCHA after he learned that his grandmother, who died in 1981, was to be inducted into the group’s Hall of Honor.
In the clip, Thornton reminisced about living in Alpine and walking to Buck’s Store, which was next to his grandmother’s home. He recalled that Faulkner was a former teacher in area schools, including Alpine, Leard, Graysonia and other localities and often rode horseback to her job. Later, she did historical research, which was published in several publications and Thornton also noted she often prepared taxes for locals who could not read.
Thornton expressed his thanks to the CCHA for selecting Faulkner.
“She was the matriarch in every sense of the word,” he said. “If my grandfather was Daniel Boone, she was Davy Crockett.”
Thornton, recalling how Faulkner used to feed “hobos” who would come around, said “she influences me to this day. She was a truly great woman. I can’t think of anyone who deserves it more.”
The Hall of Honor is designed to honor those from the past who helped document Clark County history. Also honored was Sam Callaway, a local descendant of Daniel Boone, who wrote several historical sketches in The Gurdon Times. He died in 1907.
This article first appeared in the Dec. 4, 2025, edition of The Southern Standard, a weekly newspaper published in Amity, Arkansas. It is republished here with permission.