LANCASTER, Pa. — Things are getting harder for a craft struggling to stay alive.
A Lancaster-based group that does letterpress printing must vacate its building quickly, with no potential new home.
“I’m sad... I’m very tired,” said Ken Kulakowsky, the president and founder of the .918 Club.
Kulakowsky also says he’s disappointed in the school for forcing them to move out.
The group used a building on the Thaddeus Stevens College campus in Lancaster to teach letterpress printing since 2009.
Kulakowsky says when The Center for Letterpress and Book Arts got the building it needed a lot of renovations but the .918 Club raised $77,000 to get it up and running and purchase new equipment. An investment Kulakowsky says was worth it.
“They come in here and they end up printing on multiple presses that we had set up for kids to use; so they can understand what it was like to print, we like to call it B.C., before computers,” said Kulakowsky.
The school offered the building to the club at no cost through an agreement that was extended until August 1.
“At the time the .918 Club first occupied the space in question, the number of students enrolled at the college was 808. Today, the college’s enrollment has increased more than 55%. This has led to the college advancing several facilities, renovation, and capital building projects,” said Holly White, spokesperson for Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology.
The .918 Club is hoping to find a free or reasonably priced place in Lancaster to occupy. They’ve received some offers to work in houses – however, it wouldn't give them the space they need.
“Most of the commercial spaces available are being priced at commercial prices and we are a nonprofit that works on donations all that time. So, it’s hard for us to ask people to give us more donations to try to cover the cost of things,” said Kulakowsky.
Kulakowsky also says the money they raised to renovate the place and the impact they’ve had on students should be enough to allow them to stay.
But they’re not giving up the fight to keep their art alive just yet.
“We think it’s too important to lose this part of history that students need to know about,” said Kulakowsky.
He told FOX43 that another private group is allowed to remain on campus rent-free.
When asked Thaddeus Stevens College why one group would get to stay over the other, they responded by saying they've developed a strong partnership with that group because it, "supports the growth of our region's economy, businesses and entrepreneurs."
The .918 Club is accepting donations. If you'd like to help, you can visit the club's website here.