Our History
Neighbors Coming Together Since 1961
The Villa Hills Civic Club has been bringing neighbors together for more than six decades — in fact, VHCC was here before Villa Hills officially became a city.
What started with a group of neighbors looking for solutions to some very practical community problems grew into something much bigger: a place for families to gather, volunteers to pitch in, friendships to form, and generations of Villa Hills residents to make memories.
Buildings have changed. Traditions have evolved. Villa Hills itself has grown.
But the idea behind VHCC has remained remarkably consistent:
Neighbors coming together to make their community a better place to call home.
The Beginning
38 Neighbors and One Big Idea
The story of the Villa Hills Civic Club begins on April 21, 1961, when 38 residents of the Madonna Acres neighborhood gathered at the home of William and Mrs. Krumpelman.
Their concerns probably sound familiar to anyone who has ever gotten a group of neighbors together: streets needed attention, sewage problems needed solutions, and their growing community needed services.
That evening, the group unanimously agreed to establish a civic club.
The Villa Hills Civic Club was born.
It was the beginning of an organization that would become deeply connected to the development of the community around it — and a gathering place for generations of Villa Hills families.
The First Meeting
May 8, 1961
The newly formed club held its first Officers and Directors meeting just a few weeks later, on May 8, 1961, at the Krumpelman home on Amsterdam Road.
One of the first items of business was deciding what to call the organization. The name Villa Hills Civic Club was proposed and unanimously approved.
Annual membership dues were set at $5 per year.
Then they got to work.
Early priorities included repairing Sunglow and Kenridge Avenues, addressing neighborhood safety, and exploring the creation of a playground for local children.
The group also discussed holding a summer social event to help raise money for street repairs.
So, yes — apparently combining community improvement with a good time has been part of the VHCC operating model since the very first meeting.
More than 60 years later, we'd say they were onto something.
Growing Alongside Villa Hills
Building More Than a Civic Club
The Villa Hills Civic Club didn't simply grow alongside the City of Villa Hills. It helped support the community as it was taking shape.
As residents worked toward establishing Villa Hills as an incorporated city, VHCC provided financial support for those efforts. In October 1962, the Civic Club approved two $500 loans connected to the effort.
Recreation was also part of the vision from the club's earliest years.
In 1963, Joe Franzen offered approximately 27 acres of his property behind the lake for the Civic Club to use for baseball fields. An arrangement was eventually made for the club to purchase the property.
Then, in 1969, VHCC purchased Franzen's Lodge and the surrounding acreage, establishing the Rogers Road home that generations of residents would come to know simply as the Civic Club.
Over the years, the property became a place for recreation, community events and, most importantly, people.
A Community Takes Shape
VHCC was never only about roads, meetings and property.
As membership grew, so did the ways neighbors came together.
Members organized Christmas parties, Easter egg hunts, Halloween celebrations, family picnics, carnivals, ballgame outings, boat rides and other community events. The Civic Club sponsored youth sports teams and organized collections, fundraisers and other efforts to help local families.
In 1967, 16 women gathered in another Villa Hills basement — basements apparently being the unofficial headquarters of early Villa Hills civic life — and formed the Villa Hills Women's Club.
Through bingos, dances and other fundraisers, the Women's Club raised money to support the Civic Club, improve its facilities and contribute to community activities.
A Junior Civic Club was later established for young people ages 13–18, giving another generation an opportunity to participate in the community their parents and neighbors were building.
What had begun as 38 neighbors trying to solve a few local problems had become something much larger.
It had become a community.
Looking Back
In the Words of a Founding Member
Lois Bruns was one of the founding members of the Villa Hills Civic Club, there at the beginning as a group of neighbors came together to build an organization that would become part of the fabric of the Villa Hills community.
Years later, Lois put some of those memories into writing.
Her letter, Looking Back, gives us something that meeting minutes, dates and timelines can't: a firsthand account of VHCC's early years from someone who experienced them.
Her words capture the people, activities and community spirit that shaped the Civic Club — and offer a glimpse into how a small neighborhood organization grew into something generations of Villa Hills families would come to share.
We're proud to preserve her letter here, in her own words.
Looking Back
By Lois Bruns, Founding Member of the Villa Hills Civic Club
Way Back on April 21st,1961 a group of 38 farsighted citizens (with chairs in hand) headed for the home of Mr. & Mrs. Bill Krumpelman. Foremost in their minds was the problem of what to do about the streets. (So you see our problems of today are not too much different than they were then). From this meeting ( held in Bill's basement) came our Villa Hills Civic Club. And what a wonderful thing was born.
Over the years more dedicated people joined and new ideas were presented. The activities have grown too. We have the Christmas Party, the Easter Egg Hunt, and the Halloween Party for the younger set, the family picnic and the Carnival for the family as a group, and other activities as they were planned such as trips to the ball game, boat rides and brewery parties. We also sponsor football teams and both boys and girls baseball teams. And we have other obligations on the serious side to fulfill, such as helping families in need. We've done this by collecting money, groceries and having raffles whe the need arises.
Since that original meeting more and more people have joined in the fun and this year our membership is 161 beautiful families! Through the effort and hard work of many of these people we have acquired the Civic Club Lodge with an option for the adjacent acreage. This we foresee will develop into the Villa Hills Swim Club and Recreation Center. The Civic Club meetings are held on the third Monday of the month (now third Tuesday) at 8:30pm (7:00pm) It was at one of these meetings that another idea was suddenly hit upon. And that was the fact that the distaff side could be of great help in raising money for a building fund. ( At that time the Civic Club was planning to build a Civic Club building on Rogers Road. Since we aquired the Lodge these plans have been abandoned.)
So on April 25th 1967 a group of 16 women headed for the basement of Wanda and Jim Griffith, (these basements sure come in handy!) and the Villa Hills Women's Club was born. These ladies set about to raise money by holding bingos, dances and varied other projects. Their efforts now are directed toward improving and providing extras for the Club. They also have plans for bigger and better things in the future. The Women's Club meetings are held on the second Tuesday of the month at the Lodge at 8:30pm (No active Women's Club at the moment)
It would take page upon page to name all the people who have served these two organizations so faithfully and list the good works they have performed through the years. (Some have moved on to other areas) But I'm sure they know who they are, and have received their thanks in the knowledge that they worked hard to serve their community. And now we would like to invite the rest of you to do the same. Join with us in our work and our play. Give us the benefit of your ideas and ideals We Welcome Them!
And there is more. This past January a Jr. Civic Club was formed to help our young people get started in Civic Action. The age for member is 13 - 18 and they meet on the second Sunday of the month at 2:00pm at the Madonna Manor. This group, although just getting started, we expect will be the future leaders of our community.
So actually we are not only "Looking Back" but ahead too.
Historical note: This letter reflects the Villa Hills Civic Club, its organizations and its activities as they existed at the time it was written. The original language has been preserved wherever possible as part of the historical record.
The Old Club
If These Walls Could Talk...
For generations of Villa Hills residents, the Civic Club on Rogers Road became the backdrop for countless memories.
There were meetings and fundraisers, parties and celebrations, summer evenings and ordinary Friday nights. Kids grew up here. Neighbors became friends here. Families returned year after year.
Ask someone who spent time at the old club and you're likely to get a story.
Probably several.
And we're guessing at least a few of them aren't appropriate for the website.
The old clubhouse wasn't fancy. That was never really the point.
It belonged to the community, and generations of members made it their own.
The Fire
An Ending No One Expected
In 2022, a devastating fire destroyed the clubhouse that had been part of the Villa Hills community for decades.
In a matter of hours, a building filled with generations of memories was gone.
But the Villa Hills Civic Club wasn't.
The community rallied around VHCC. Members, neighbors and supporters began the long process of figuring out what came next.
There were decisions to make, plans to develop, funds to raise and a new building to create.
It would take years.
But VHCC was coming back.
The Rebuild
A New Club. The Same Community.
On April 25, 2025, the new Villa Hills Civic Club officially opened its doors.
After years of planning, rebuilding and community support, neighbors once again had a clubhouse on Rogers Road.
The new building marked a fresh chapter for VHCC, but the purpose behind it was very familiar.
Today, our property once again gives neighbors a place to gather. Families come for community events. Kids head for the playground. Friends meet for a drink. Volunteers show up when something needs to get done. Members gather for cookouts, live music, celebrations, meetings and sometimes no particular reason at all.
The building is new.
The idea behind it is more than 60 years old.
The Next Chapter
Our History Is Still Being Written
When 38 neighbors gathered in April 1961, they couldn't have known exactly what they were starting.
They probably couldn't have imagined the generations of families who would eventually call VHCC their Civic Club, either.
But more than six decades later, we're still carrying forward what they began.
We're still gathering.
We're still volunteering.
We're still making memories.
We're still figuring out what our community needs next.
And we're still doing it together.
That's the history of the Villa Hills Civic Club — and we're nowhere near finished.
Help Us Preserve Our History
A lot of VHCC's history doesn't live in official records. It lives in photo albums, newspaper clippings, boxes in basements and the stories our members have been telling for decades.
If you have old VHCC photographs, memorabilia, newspaper clippings or a story from the Civic Club that deserves to be remembered, we'd love to hear from you.
Help us preserve the stories that made VHCC what it is today.