Three of the five original Tower Place Cornhole Association members: Dirc Lindeman, George Schurr and Steve Hensley. Not pictures: John Hengelbrok, Bill Keefer. 

Life has a way of dividing in how you spend your time into two main segments: obligations and freedoms.

For a group of Fort Thomas residents on Tower Place, every Thursday for the last ten years they have been meeting to play cornhole.

The Tower Place Cornhole Association is not a cobbled-together group that informally gets together socially. There are bylaws, and voting members. They have their own terms (see: Shicked, Royed, Toe-Tag or Double-Dirc).

They play year round, usually on Tower Place in someone’s backyard or if the weather is bad at the Olde Fort Pub or a member’s workplace.

Roofing, siding, gutters, painting. Call Matt Spencer, he’s local, reliable and honest. 

There is a random draw for partners each week and they never play for money. It’s the camaraderie and pride that draws them to play.

The original members are Steve Hensley, George Schurr, Dirc Lindeman, John Hengelbrok and Bill Keefer. The founder of the club, Hensley, moved to the street in 2008 and wanted to involve the neighbors in a social gathering in June of that year and the TPCA was born.

According to the TPCA website, other diehards include Tom Meyer, Wally Szymanski and Mark Schweitzer.


RELATED: The Tower Place Cornhole Association Website 

When I show up to the 10th anniversary of the club’s inception there are about 20 people there in total. Some I know, Meyer, Dan Gorman and Dr. Nick Gates, some I’m meeting for the first time, Dan Orem or Schurr’s sons, Evan and Elliott.

One thing is clear: this is not an obligation to this crew.

“We are doing life together,” says Orem. “We all genuinely like each other and this is what life is about: deep connection.” 



The joke (or maybe it’s not because it was repeated to me on multiple occasions by many members that night) is that if you buy a membership to the club, you get a free house on Tower Place.

The atmosphere is light, but the group is competitive. They are really good players. Drinks and food flow freely. Inside jokes, statistics only they would understand and themed t-shirts are plentiful.

This night Meyer and Hensley win. Schurr sends an update to the group and updates the website a few days later. His backyard, where the event this night takes place, looks and feels like a cornhole “Field of Dreams.” Grass is beautifully kept and engineered flat. A ring illuminates the ring on the board as day bleeds into night. The lights come on and the music gets a little louder. No one will complain because almost all of the neighbors are gathered there.

I’m happy I get to witness this group doing life together, because I’m a community guy and this is as community as it gets. Congratulations for doing life together, fellas. This is what it’s all about.

Tower Place Cornhole Association Members List

Voting Members

Steve Hensley

Dirc Lindeman

George Schurr

Bill Keefer

Wally Szymanski

Dan Gorman

John Hengelbrok

Chuck True- Ghosting in

Chris Huth

Bryan Kiernan

Nick Winburn

Matt Jones- on hiatus

Official Members

Dan Orem

Nick Gates

Tom Meyer

Mark Schweitzer

Rob Roy

Steve Miller

Mark Goetz

Bruce Sidel

Elliott Schurr

Evan Schurr

Eric Schurr

Robby Henglebrook

Jake True

Tim Gestner

Nick True

Andy Miller

Probationary Members

Rob Woods

James Masters

Keith Brown

Gary Schwabach

Carl Bittner

Jeff Bertke

Keith Jansen

Guest Members

Tim Vara

Chris Cavacini

Mark Farley



Legacy Members

Charlie Gorman

Issac Woods

Chris Woods

Luke Woods

Alex Woods

Roland Hensley

Warren Huth

Logan Szymanski

Photos courtesy Evan Shurr. 

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