January 31 in A.A. History

In 1940, Frederic J. Haskins, in his column “Haskin’s Answers to Readers’ Questions,” in Washington, DC’s The Evening Star, answered a reader’s question about A.A.:

    Q. Please give some information about an organization called Alcoholics Anonymous.—H. T. S.
    A. This is a group of former alcoholics who meet in Steinway Hall, New York City, to strengthen one another’s resolutions and help other alcoholics to reform. They have recently published a book entitled “Alcoholics Anonymous.”

In 1946, Charles Fletcher Welch—a nonalcoholic and Honorary Lifetime Vice President of the first A.A. group in Vancouver, British Columbia [right: first meeting place, Welch's home]—signed a certificate of “tribute” to Charles B., the group's first alcoholic member.

In 2003, the second meeting of the month-long Online Service Conference (OSC) concluded. From a history of the OSC:

    New committees were organized, including one to search for more online A.A. groups who might be invited to OSC, a Literature Committee, a Translation Committee and a Web Committee. Nominations were taken for candidates for the Steering Committee, to be voted on at the third OSC in July 2003. No Online Advisory Actions were voted during the second conference. 

 In 2004, the fourth meeting of the month-long Online Service Conference (OSC) concluded. From a history of the OSC:

    The most significant action at the assembly was introduction of a proposed Charter for OSC presented by James C. from the UK, as chairman of the Voting Methods Committee. The Web Committee also presented its work on the OSC website for comment by the assembly. No voting actions were offered with the agenda or acted upon during the conference assembly.

By the end of the year, the OSC website at aa-onlineserviceconference.org, would go dark.

January 30 in A.A. History

In 1945, Walter Winchell’s syndicated gossip column, “Coast-to-Coast” told of a visit by Carrie A. Nation to New York City that “accomplished no more than having a nude statue draped and sending a lot of barmen’s blood pressure up.” Alcoholics Anonymous was mentioned in passing:

“The Lost Weekend” caused a lot more pity than the real sight does; “Harvey” makes it a good deal funnier than it always it [sic]; Alcoholics Anonymous have been there before.

In 1961, Dr. Carl Jung [left], in Kusnact-Zurich, Switzerland, responded to Bill W.’s letter of January 23rd, acknowledging Jung’s unwitting contribution to A.A. through his work with Rowland Hazard in the 1930s. He said that Bill’s letter was “very welcome indeed.” He had never heard from Rowland and “often wondered what has been his fate.” He noted that Rowland had “adequately reported” their conversations, although he couldn’t tell Rowland “everything,” having learned that he himself had been misunderstood “in every possible way.”
    What he really thought…

… was the result of many experiences with men of his kind. His craving for alcohol was the equivalent on a low level of the spiritual thirst of our being for wholeness, expressed in medieval language: the union with God^*. How could one formulate such an insight in a language that is not misunderstood in our days

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^* “As the heart panteth after the water brook, so panteth my soul after thee, O God.” Psalm 42, 1

    Jung said that such a person must “walk on a path which leads [one] to higher understanding.” This can be done “by an act of grace,” “through a personal and honest contact with friends,” or “through a higher education of the mind beyond the confines of mere rationalism.” He noted that Rowland had clearly chosen the second way.

    I am strongly convinced that the evil principle prevailing in this world leads the unrecognized spiritual need into perdition, if it is not counteracted either by a real religious insight or by the protective wall of human community. An ordinary man, not protected by an action from above and isolated in society, cannot resist the power of evil, which is called very aptly the Devil. But the use of such words arouse[s] so many mistakes that one can only keep aloof from them as much as possible.…
    Alcohol in Latin is spiritus, and you use the same word for the highest religious experience as well as for the most depraving poison. The helpful formula therefore is: spiritus contra spiritum.

In 1969, The Post of Big Stone Gap, Virginia published “Invitational Meet For AA Is Set” [right], which stated:

    An invitational meeting of Alcoholics Anonymous will be held on Sunday afternoon, Feb. 9 at 2:30 at the Old Dominion Power Co. Building in Norton.
    Any person interested in learning something about this world-wide organization and its approach to the growing problem of alcoholism is welcome.
    The meeting will be conducted by out-of-state members of AA and will last exactly one hour per organizational policy. These visiting members will
be available after the meeting to answer individual questions.

In 1971, The Evening Star of Washington, DC, published “Bill W.”, an editorial, 6 days after Bill’s death, which stated in part,

    Alcoholics Anonymous is by far the most effective organization dealing with one of man’s oldest medical and social problems.… AA is an organization in which people give much of themselves to assist other sufferers. Many are in Mr. W[—–]’s debt for his showing how it could be done.

January 29 in A.A. History

In 1947, at the Alcoholic Foundation in New York City, a transatlantic operator put through a call from Nordholz, Germany, just before 3 o’clock in the afternoon, after arranging the call the day before.  The call came from the base surgeon at a  U.S. Army hospital in Germany. He was concerned about his friend and patient, Captain B., who was also an A.A. member. The captain, it turned out, was in serious trouble. In fact, he had been tried by a military court in Germany and sentenced to be discharged for drunkenness on duty. Would A.A. help?
    The surgeon gave a brief history of his patient. Then he revealed that Captain B. was aboard an Army transport ship scheduled to arrive in New York City at 8:30 a.m. in three days, on February 1. The A.A. staff sprang into action.
    They found an ex-Army officer who agreed to drop everything to help. This found a Catholic bishop, a friend of A.A., who contacted the port of embarkation and found out that the priest there had been chaplain on the same ship, which would allow him to board the ship as soon as it docked. He also found a lawyer who was friendly to A.A. and willing to try to help the captain.
    The A.A. Grapevine reported this story in its March 1947 issue. Captain B. had arrived, the priest had reported that his interview with Captain B. had gone well and he felt that the man was indeed worth helping. Captain B. was awaiting disposition of his case at Camp Kilmer, New Jersey. He was under arrest, but the A.A. secretaries had arranged for visitors to see him. The attorney was waiting for Washington, DC to accept or deny the request. The priest at the port had been in contact with his colleagues at Camp Kilmer. They, too, promised to do what they could for the captain.
    This call from Germany was the first transatlantic call ever received by The Alcoholic Foundation.

 In 2023, in an unprecedented incident, two trustees of the General Service Board (GSB) of Alcoholics Anonymous arrived at a meeting with unsigned letters of resignation. The meeting was a scheduled GSB “planning” meeting with non-board members, and they were not in executive session. The two surprised the non-alcoholic GSB chair, Judge Linda Chezem—as well as a number of other trustees—by asking her to resign; if she refused, they said they would sign and submit their own resignations. After saying that she would resign if the GSB wanted her to, she was asked to leave the room. The GSB—presumably after thorough and fully informed discussion—voted unanimously to accept her verbal offer to resign. They then drafted a letter of resignation for her to sign. When she was called back into the room and asked to sign this letter, she handwrote the phrase “As requested by the board” before signing the letter and leaving.

January 28 in A.A. History

In 1947, at 10 o’clock in the morning, the switchboard operator at the Alcoholic Foundation office in New York City received a signal from the local transatlantic telephone operator.
    “Will someone there be available for a call from Nordholz, Germany, at 2:30 p. m. tomorrow?” she asked.
    “Yes, of course. Can you tell us the nature of the call?”
    “No, but I can say that the call is urgent,” the operator replied.
    [Stay tuned.…]

January 27 in A.A. History

In 1952, about 200 people attended the 2nd anniversary meeting of the Alco Anon club in the Knights of Columbus clubrooms at 152 Lincoln Way W., Massillon, Ohio. Many members of the clergy, medical professionals, civic leaders, and industry representatives were in attendance. Out-of-town visitors came from Akron, Canton, Cleveland, Minerva, North Canton (all in Ohio), and Florida, as well as many others from nearby areas.
    Warren C. from the Cleveland Group of Alcoholics Anonymous was the main speaker. He spoke about the A.A. program and how it works, pointing out that one must be sincere in one’s desire to quit drinking and admit that life is unmanageable when one joins A.A., saying,

    Belief in a Power greater than ourselves is one of the basic principles of the A.A. program.… The help we receive is contingent on the help we are willing to give others. In order to keep our sobriety we must work the A.A. principles in all our affairs.

In 1971, The Washington (DC) Post published an obituary for Bill W. written by the owner’s son, Donald E. Gra­ham.

January 26 in A.A. History

In 1941, The Detroit (MI) Evening Times published a syndicated column [right] by Walter Winchell^* that included a strange mix of truth and misinformation about A.A. [ellipses in original]: 

THERE IS A GROUP called “Alcoholics Anonymous” in New York, the moving spirit being a well-known transatlantic flier… The group’s aim is to “straighten out any fellow who will even admit he drinks too much”… They meet at an illustrators place and have big “rallies.” These “rallies” are attended sometimes by hundreds of lushes, many of whom have been in institutions for alcoholics, etc… They’ve succeeded where doctors and psychiatrists have failed, working on the theory that only a drunk knows how to talk to a drunk.

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^* Winchell (born Winchel, 1897–1972) was a U.S. “journalist” [gossip columnist] and broadcaster whose newspaper columns and radio broadcasts containing news and gossip gave him a massive audience and much influence in the United States in the 1930s, ’40s, and ’50s. His reports, always very opinionated, brought him both admirers and detractors.

In 1971, The New York Times—on page 1—and The Evening Star (Washington, DC) both carried obituaries for Bill W., who had died two days earlier.

January 25 in A.A. History

In 1915, Dr. Bob S. and Anne Ripley married after 17 years of courtship [left: Anne in her wedding dress].
    The reason for the delay is unknown. There were years of schooling, an internship and work for Dr. Bob. Anne may have been afraid to marry a drunk and waited until Dr. Bob showed signs of sobriety. They met and corresponded regularly during those 17 years while Anne taught school in Oak Park, Illinois.
    Bob and Anne were married in Chicago, Illinois, at the home of Anne’s mother. They took up residence at 855 Ardmore Ave. in Akron, Ohio. The first three years of their marriage were free of the turmoil that was to come.

In 1971, the U.S./Canada General Service Office (GSO) in New York City announced the death of Bill W., the remaining co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous, in Miami, Florida, the previous day.
    Bob H., General Manager of GSO, sent telegrams to central offices [right: p. 1 of telegram to Vancouver (British Columbia) Central Office] and Dr. Jack Norris, Chairman of the General Service Board, wrote a letter addressed to “Dear friends” [“Queraos amigos”].

 

 January 24 in A.A. History

In 1918, Bill W. and Lois Burnham [right, in wedding attire] were married.
    Bill was stationed at Ft. Adams near Newport, Rhode Island. Spurred by rumors that Bill’s unit might soon be going overseas, they moved the date up from the scheduled February 1, and were married at the Swedenborgian Church of the New Jerusalem in Brooklyn, New York. Rev. Julian Smyth officiated.
    Rogers Burnham, Lois’ brother and Bill's childhood friend, was best man; Lois's sister Katherine “Kitty” and four friends from Packer Institute were bridesmaids; her childhood friend Elise Valentine Shaw was matron of honor; and her sister Barbara was maid of honor. Bill’s mother, Emily Griffith W. was unable to come from Boston because she had the flu, and Bill’s sister Dorothy stayed behind to care for their mother. Also absent, perhaps because of the sudden change in date, were Fayette and Ella Griffith, Emily’s parents, who had raised Bill and Dorothy from the time he was about 10 years old.
    Said one of Bill’s biographers,

    But nothing, not even a lack of family on the groom’s side, could dim the quiet glow of the occasion, a young lanky soldier beside his bride—and no one who was at the church or at the reception on Clinton Street was apt to forget them.

 In 1945, the first black A.A. group in the United States was formed in St. Louis, Missouri. The group met with 5 members present, and elected Torrence S. as secretary. Proud of their accomplishment, they called themselves the “AA-1 Group.” Father Ed Dowling, Bill’s spiritual advisor and an important figure in St. Louis A.A. who had long been a friend to the black community, may have played a role in gaining this group's acceptance into the larger community.

In 1954, On Bill and Lois W.’s 38th wedding anniversary, she suffered a heart attack that severely limited her activities for a year.

In 1968, Bill and Lois W. celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary [left: Bill & Lois, 1960s].

In 1971, Bill W., 75, co-founder of A.A. and 36 years sober, died at the Miami Heart Institute in Miami Beach, Florida on his and Lois’ 53rd wedding anniversary. Bill was the architect and author of the Three Legacies of Alcoholics Anonymous: Recovery, Unity and Service. He also wrote the documents that explained them. It was an amazing accomplishment, especially since he had no training as a writer, organizer, or administrator.

 

January 20 in A.A. History

In 1841, Gardner Griffith, Bill W.’s maternal grandfather, was born in Dorset, Vermont. He and his wife, Ella Brock Griffith, would raise Bill from the age of about 10.

20 Jan 1933 front page

In 1933, members of the Oxford Group were greeted at the Mayflower Hotel by leading citizens of Akron, Ohio. The following evening, The Akron Beacon Journal reported [right]:

    A formal dinner for 130 preceded the regular meeting and the photographer snapped F. A. Seiberling, president of Seiberling Tire & Rubber Co., and Miss Olivia Jones, member of the group and former president of the National Education association [sic], as they walked from the private dining hall.
    The Oxford movement has been called “religion in every day clothes” and the camera caught three of the group in full evening dress, as they prepared to enter the meeting hall. Mrs. Ruth Buchanan, the fox-hunting member from Virginia is talking to Sir Walter Windham, English business man, while Frau von Cramon, German schoolmistress is adding her comments in a pleasant German accent.

In 1937, articles of Incorporation were granted by the State of Delaware to Henry G. P▒▒▒▒▒, Inc.