The Fountain Hills Times celebrates its 44th year of covering the community this week, as the first edition of the paper arrived on June 27, 1974.

The paper, along with the town, was quite a bit different all those years ago. That first issue of The Times measured 16 pages in length, which was printed in a tabloid format. Each issue hit newsstands on Thursdays and the paper only cost 15 cents.

But the paper has grown alongside the town and now runs on Wednesdays. The price has also crept up to a full dollar, though the publication usually averages 22 to 30 pages per issue.

As for the staff, Alan Cruikshank retired as of the first of the year but remains active as president of the corporation. He has been around for the full run of the paper, with mainstays like General Manager Kip Kirkendoll and Reporter Bob Burns being part of the operation for 34 and 30 years respectively. Brent Cruikshank, alongside Duke Kirkendoll and Tangie Prieskorn, practically grew up at The Times. As for Special Publications Editor Linda McThrall, she was with The Times from 1976 to 1982 and returned in 2005.

That’s only a portion of the staff, of course, but it goes to show how the office has remained a close-knit group over the years, further strengthened by the inclusion of reporter Barb Charzuk, sales representative John Gibson and classifieds/circulation manager Tammie Ott. And then there are all of the folks who deliver the paper on a weekly basis and even Cinco, Linda’s dog who has been adopted by everyone at the office.

As for this most recent year, The Times has continued to evolve. As noted above, Alan has shifted to the role of company president while Brent has become the full-fledged publisher. Ryan Winslett is in his 13th year with the paper and was named editor in late 2015. A couple of new faces have also shown up around the office, including Amy Sanders in production and Joey Postiglione covering schools and sports.

The Times staff would like to thank the community for picking up the paper over the past 44 years. We could not continue to provide the news without the support of our dedicated readers and advertisers, and we look forward to keeping those relationships going strong for years to come.