For Johnny Bernhardt and Wayne Allen, Inuvik Drum has always been a part of their lives.

As kids, they would deliver the paper each week to earn some extra spending money, selling the copies for 10 cents each.

"We got about $4 or $5," said Allen. "When we sold our first batch, we went back and got some more.

"He always depended on us SA¹ú¼ÊÓ°ÊÓ´«Ã½” in the summertime we'd use bikes."

That was back when Tom Butters, the original founder of Inuvik Drum, was still running the show. Butters later went on to become an MLA in the NWT Legislature. Inuvik Drum was eventually acquired by Northern News Services.

"That was basically our money-maker," said Bernhardt. "We were too young to work.

"We'd go pick them up at one 'o clock and we'd be done at three."

Both said they would miss the stories and photos of the community each week.

Steve Cockney Sr. said the newspaper was always there whenever something important was going on.

"What was good about it was everything was pretty much local," he said. "We'd have news our region and communities. It was good to see and listen to news from our surrounding area.

"I'm going to miss not seeing photos and news of what's happening in our community."

Winston Moses said Inuvik Drum was vital for keeping people informed.

He said it served as both a guidebook for visitors and as a way for residents to advertise to one another.

"You can read the history of the town, of the people and how they lived," he said. "It's a life story in itself. It will be a big loss, not only to Inuvik and the surrounding areas."

He added that the newspaper also helped people keep track of who was coming and going in the region, as well as informing people if someone they knew in a nearby community has passed on.

Lilian Elias said she has plenty of fond memories of reading the newspaper.

"It's been something that if you don't catch anything, they have it," she said. "If you read the Drum, you get all the answers.

"You could find out a lot things you wouldn't hear on the radio. With the Drum, we connected in all different ways."

Inuvik Mayor Peter Clarkson said many of the features in Inuvik Drum, such as the Youth of the Week, will be greatly missed by the community.

He said many people had not quite absorbed what it will mean to no longer have regular coverage of local events.

"It's been the weekly newspaper everybody would pick up every Thursday," he said. "It definitely will be missed, just having a reporter in town that knows what's happening and also knows the issues.

"The Drum always covered stories on stuff the town wanted to get done, be it a cleanup or special event. I can still remember people trying to get to Inuvik to be Tourist of the Week. It was a little thing but a big thing.

Clarkson added that he appreciates how rapidly things are changing in the digital age, "but I think the weekly newspaper has played a huge role."