An iconic old community center in central Alberta is in danger of shutting its doors if members of the community don't take a more active role.

The Lincoln Hall has been a stable of the Gull Lake area since 1927, hosting everything from concerts, to weddings, to bingo.

President of the Lincoln Hall Community Society Tony Kamlah says the community has become less engaged in their fundraising efforts.

“The problem is the last couple of years we’ve had to dig into our savings to get us through the winter. We used to run these fundraisers and that was the money that carried us over, but now we can’t sell these things out.”

Only 11 people showed up to pay the $5 membership fee at their general meeting in February, and over 400 letters sent out to rural mailboxes with a request for support went mostly unanswered.

Kamlah says he thinks changing demographics, the downturn in the economy, and advances in technology and entertainment are all factors in their waning fundraiser numbers.

“I don’t know if it’s just the times, the economy is not that good, and another thing the old timers around here have either moved on or they’ve passed away, and a lot of the places have switched to acreages. Acreage people don’t seem like they’re as community-minded as farm people. Farmers tend to want to know their neighbours whereas acreage people, they don’t really seem to worry about that.”

There will be an emergency meeting held at the Lincoln Hall on Monday, April 8th, at 7:30 pm, to determine its fate.