The Eastern Arizona Courier is a weekly newspaper published in Safford, Arizona. Its roots go back to March 1895, when it was founded as the Graham Guardian by the Guardian Publishing Company, and edited by John J. Birdno.[2]
History
The front page of the first issue of the Graham Guardian
The Graham Guardian began publication on March 9, 1895, edited by John J. Birdno. Birdno left the paper in 1917, and John F. Weber took over the editorial reins.[2] In 1922 W. M. Moore and Clyde W. Ijams became the editors, and the following year the paper merged with The Gila Valley Farmer, which had been formed in 1916.[3]
The Farmer's history dated back to 1882, with the creation of the Graham County News,[4] before going through several name changes: The Clifton Clarion (1883–1889),[5]The Valley Bulletin (1889–1890),[6]Graham County Bulletin (1890–1897),[7] and The Arizona Bulletin (1897–1916).[8] After the merger, the paper was renamed the Graham County Guardian and Gila Valley Farmer, with William B. Kelly as the editor. Kelly had come over from the Bisbee Daily Review.[2]
Kelly edited the paper until 1943, when it was purchased by the Gila Printing and Publishing Company, which changed the name to the Graham County Guardian. In 1946 Earl Hunt became the paper's editor.[2] In 1975, Gila Printing, owned by Louis F. Long, sold the Graham County Guardian to Robert G. Gentry, who had published the Eastern Arizona Courier of Safford since 1967.[9] Gentry merged the two papers together to form the Eastern Arizona Courier and Graham County Guardian and then sold them in 1983[10] to Wick Communications.[11] In 1984 the paper's name was changed to the Eastern Arizona Courier.[2]
