It took a Village (and a Flo) to create a Packer community in the 1960s

There must have been a little something extra in the water at the Village Apartments in Green Bay back in the 1960s.

(Well, there was a little something extra in the water at the Bettis house next door. 🤣)

Either way, the people who lived there went on to live impressive lives, and they have great stories to tell.

Flo Bettis managed those apartments back then, and she kept several of them open for Packer families. She made a point of maintaining an open door policy for Lombardi’s Packers, regardless of race.

She’d heard some of the Black players were having trouble finding suitable housing so she approached Coach Lombardi herself and told him to send his players her way.

She helped them feel right at home. Her daughter Barb babysat their kids, her son Jamie painted their walls.

They both describe an idyllic childhood in which they tossed the football around with Super Bowl champions, and helped their mother host away game viewing parties.

Their dad, Bob, built a bar in the back of their house and the players often gathered there to unwind. The Premontre priests lived up the hill, and they’d come down to have a beer or two. Eventually, these “holy roller” parties became a regular gathering.

Coach instituted a strict curfew and he often called to check up on them.

“Florence,” he’d say. “Are the guys all in?”

“They’re here,” she’d say, and they would be there…bellied up to Bob’s bar having a beer or two.

So many of the Packer wives we interviewed for our book “Lambeau Ladies: The Boundary-Breaking Women behind Lombardi’s Packers” mentioned the kindness and generosity of Flo Bettis that she became one of the project’s stars.

We interviewed both Barb and Jamie for the book, and we enjoyed hearing more about Flo, who remained an unabashed Packer fan throughout her whole life.

None of the Bettis family members live in the area anymore, but I was able to meet up with Jamie last week when he and his wife Lori were in town for a visit, and I got to hand deliver some books.

Later, he texted me a picture of the two of them in front of the Village apartments.

“Apartments look good yet,” he wrote.

Imagine the stories those thick walls could tell.

You can hear more about Flo and the Village apartments in both our podcast and our book. Check out our website at http://www.lambeauladies.com to learn more about both.