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 23 in A.A. History

In 1961, Bill W. [left] sent Dr. Carl Jung [right] a letter of appreciation for
his contribution to A.A., which Bill felt was long overdue. After introducing himself, Bill wrote:

… I doubt if you are aware that a certain conversation you once had with one of your patients, a Mr. Roland [sic] Hazard, back in the early 1930’s, did play a critical role in the founding of our Fellowship.
… Our remembrance of Roland Hazard’s statements about his experience with you is as follows:

Bill then told what he knew of Rowland Hazard [lower left] visiting Jung, getting sober in the Oxford Group, his message reaching Bill at the lowest point of his alcoholism through Ebby T. [lower right], followed by Bill’s spiritual experience at Towns Hospital, his founding of A.A., and the spiritual experiences of many thousands of A.A. members since.

This concept proved to be the foundation of such success as Alcoholics Anonymous has since achieved. This has made conversion experience… available on an almost wholesale basis.

    Bill ended his letter most graciously,

    As you will now clearly see, this astonishing chain of events actually started long ago in your consulting room, and it was directly founded upon your own humility and deep perception.
    Very many thoughtful A.A.’s are students of your writings. Because of your conviction that man is something more than intellect, emotion, and two dollars’ worth of chemicals, you have especially endeared yourself to us.…
    Please be certain that your place in the affection, and in the history, of our Fellowship is like no other’s.

January 22 in A.A. History

In 1942, Bill and Lois W. returned home from a cross-continental trip that included stops in all the major cities where Alcoholics Anonymous was active. The tour had been a success for Bill and for the A.A. Fellowship. So it was a surprise when, shortly thereafter, Bill fell into a suicidal depression that would last until 1955.

January 21 in A.A. History

In 1942, Island Press published Drunks are Square Pegs [left] by Charles C., Jr.. He was from Bedford Hills, New York, and had been an Oxford Grouper. He had worked with Rev. Sam Shoemaker, but couldn’t stay sober. In Oct 1935, Charles sought and received help from A.A. founder Bill W.; he got sober and stayed sober. His book The Big Bender (published in 1938) tells the story. He also wrote Drinking’s Not the Problem (published in 1949), which was reviewed in the Dec 1949 issue of the A.A. Grapevine.

 

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. 

January 19 in A.A. History

In 1939, the first published reference to Alcoholics Anonymous anywhere was in The Hackettstown (New Jersey) Courier-Post in an article titled “There Is Hope.” It was written by Silas B. a noted journalist, book editor, and author who had been the third member of A.A. in New York City, but who would also suffer a “spectacular slip” within a year. In the article,  he tells Hank P.’s story without naming anyone and without providing information on how to contact A.A.

In 1940, Dorothy S. of Cleveland, Ohio wrote to Ruth Hock describing Larry J. as a brilliant newspaperman who, at 40, was down and out “owing to John Barleycorn.” She asked the Alcoholic Foundation office in New York City to help Larry start a group in Houston, Texas, which they did.
    Larry’s story began in Cleveland in late 1939. Weighing 100 lbs [45 kg], he had been found in freezing weather with no coat, a collapsed lung from tuberculosis, and near death, in terrible physical condition. In a Cleveland hospital he had been slowly recovering from the DT’s, malnutrition, and exposure. Local A.A. members, including Clarence S., Dorothy’s husband, had visited and cared for him regularly. Because of his ailments, Larry had been advised to move to a warm climate. Without ever having attended an A.A. meeting, he boarded a train for Houston, with only a Big Book. As he read it on the train, he had a spiritual awakening and went on to found A.A. in Texas.

In 1944, Bill W. returned from his first major A.A. tour, which he had begun on 24 October 1943.

In 1999, Francis “Frank” M., G.S.O. Archivist since 1982, died in Vero Beach, Florida, 8 days shy of his 65th birthday. Frank, sober since 10 June 1970, was widely known as a dedicated A.A. member and A.A. historian. He was a 21-year employee of the General Service Office—first as an administrative assistant and, until his retirement in 1998, as G.S.O.’s Archivist. Frank often referred to himself as “the Happy Archivist.” In his many talks about the G.S.O. Archives, he emphasized that the primary reason for having archives is so “we don't forget where we’ve come from.”

In 2015, Dr. Ernest “Ernie” Kurtz, 79, author of Not-God: A History of Alcoholics Anonymous, died of pancreatic cancer at his home in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

January 18 in A.A. History

In 1939, The Alcoholic Foundation Board of Trustees met. They unanimously agreed to add two trustees to the board, one Class A (non-alcoholic) and one Class B (alcoholic), and then unanimously elected Dr. Leonard V. Strong (Bill W.’s brother-in-law) and Harry B. (whose story is “A Different Slant” in the 1st edition of the Big Book, Alcoholics Anonymous) to fill the positions. Dr. Strong would serve on the board until October 1954 (as secretary), then become a trustee emeritus until July 1960. Harry was also elected as the second chairman of the board (following William “Bill” R.). He would soon return to drinking and be replaced in December 1939, serving less than a year. From that time until 2024, the Chairman of the Board was always a Class A Trustee. The trustees appointed their own successors and were, as Bill W. said, “chartered to do everything under the sun.”
    Bill gave a lengthy report on the book, tentatively titled 100 Men. The minutes note that “the Alcoholic Foundation does not have any legal connection whatsoever with the organization or operation of this to-be-formed publishing company,” although they agree to accept “a contribution of $0.35 per volume sold if and when the book is published and put on sale” [emphasis added]. However, “the sentiment [of the board] to render all such possible assistance [as individuals] was unanimous, …” and at least three of the Class A trustees would purchase stock in Work Publishing, Inc. within days.

In 1948, a United Press “Wire Brief” on page 2 of The Sunday Morning Star of Wilmington, Delaware, reported on what they called A.A.’s “first international conference”:

DETROIT—The first international conference of members of Alcoholics Anonymous opened here last night in perhaps the driest convention on record. Some 3,000 delegates from throughout the midwest and two Canadian provinces toasted their first meeting with a soft drink punch in an unannounced part of the city.

 In 1950, The Fort Payne (Alabama) Journal published a short, unsigned article about two glimpses “inside” Alcoholics Anonymous by two of its members in two different places. The first talk was described as “very fine and impressive;” the second as “a soul stirring [sic] address along the lines of what Alcoholics Anonymous has meant to him and what it can mean to others.” Of A.A. itself, the author said, “We have nothing but praise” and called it “a great organization doing a great work. And we believe it to be an inspired one.”

Hank P.

In 1954, Henry “Hank” P. [left], 58, died at Mercer Hospital in Trenton, New Jersey, after a long illness at Glenwood Sanitarium. Lois W. said it was from alcoholism. Ruth Hock wrote, “If it weren’t for Bill W. the Big Book would never have been written. If it weren’t for Hank P. the Big Book would never have been published.” Hank is credited in a number of sources with writing Chapter 10, “To Employers,” in Alcoholics Anonymous. He also hand-wrote a key portion of Bill’s story as an edit to the multilith manuscript master copy.

January 16 in A.A. History

Headline:
"U.S. IS VOTED DRY"

In 1919, with Nebraska’s adoption of the 18th Amendment, the 36th state (of 48) to do so, the 18th Amendment became part of the United States Constitution [right: front page of the Anti-Saloon League’s The American Issue^*, 25 Jan 1919]. This amendment prohibited “the manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors within, the importation thereof into, or the exportation thereof.” Note that this language did not prohibit the use, possession, or even manufacture of alcohol for private, personal use.
    As Dr. Bob pointed out in his story “Doctor Bob’s Nightmare” in all four editions of the Big Book, Alcoholics Anonymous, he did not realize at first that the government would accommodate his alcoholism by allowing doctors almost unlimited supplies of grain alcohol for “medicinal purposes.” During Prohibition, Dr. Bob would go to the phone book, pick out a name at random, and fill out a prescription to get himself a pint of 100-proof medicinal alcohol.

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^* The total circulation of The American Issue in 1919 was 837,200,172 copies!

In 1920, At midnight, Prohibition went into effect throughout the United States, one year after the ratification of the 18th Amendment. It had provided that the “Congress and the several States” would have the power to enforce Prohibition, but the enabling legislation—the Volstead Act, named for Minnesota’s Rep. Andrew Volstead but written by The Anti-Saloon League’s Wayne Wheeler—left no room for local options or other flexibility. Ironically, the law called for a vast increase in federal intervention in society just as “limited government” advocates were coming into office (Prohibition was in effect during the presidencies of Harding, Coolidge, and Hoover). A parsimonious Congress was reluctant to appropriate enough money for effective enforcement.
    The result would be a decade of lawlessness, with citizens flouting the law in speakeasies and bootleggers corrupting public officials. On Capitol Hill, the bootlegger George Cassiday [right, 1930], known as “The Man in the Green Hat,” would operate freely out of the House office building. The Senate successfully prevented his client list from ever being made public!
    Alcohol consumption and deaths from cirrhosis of the liver would both decline during Prohibition, while Bill W., Dr. Bob S. and other A.A. pioneers would do their heaviest drinking during this period. Terms like “rumrunner,” “bootlegger,” “speakeasy” and “bathtub gin” would soon enter the national vocabulary.

In 1945, A meeting was held at the Hotel Cleveland in Cleveland, Ohio to elect the first administrative body to open and guide the functions of a Downtown A. A. District [Central] Office. Jack D., Paul J., Charles D., Dr. F. F. and Cliff B. were elected to the first Operating Committee. Dick S., Elmer L. and Abby G. were elected to the Nominating Committee. The Finance Committee reported that in response to a December letter soliciting funds, about 200 members had contributed $3,600, and many pledges had been made to contribute as soon as the office was open.

January 15 in A.A. History

"Fitz" M.

In 1937, John Henry Fitzhugh “Fitz” M. [left] began trying to start an A.A. meeting in Washington, DC. He would do so for much of the next 2½ years. His sister lived in Washington, and he stayed with her for at least part of that time. He had minimal success at first, but by the fall of 1939 he had established the nucleus of a small group.

In 1941, Bill W. asked Ruth Hock to get him a copy of what he called a “spook book”: The Unobstructed Universe, by Stewart Edward White.

In 1942, Jeanne C. held the first A.A. meeting in Springfield, Missouri.
    While living temporarily in Kansas City, Missouri, during World War II, she had seen an advertisement for Alcoholics Anonymous in the classified section of The Kansas City Star. She had written to the P.O. Box, then joined the Kansas City Number One group and got sober. After returning to Springfield, she stayed sober for two years by making frequent trips to Kansas City, despite gas rationing, and by corresponding with Bobbie B. at the Alcoholic Foundation office in New York City.
    Eventually she wrote an article about A.A. for the local Springfield paper and got a post office box. When she had a dozen names, she set the place and date for the first meeting in Springfield: at her house on 15 January.
    Later, Jeanne would help A.A. get started in Joplin, Missouri, after receiving a call from Jim S. asking how to start a group. Jeanne would respond by gathering several carloads of members from Springfield and Kansas City and descending on Joplin.

In 1945, Newsweek magazine published  “It’s Fun to be Sober” in its MEDICINE section, about Joe, a seaman, who formed his own “club”—the A.A. Seamen’s Group in the clubhouse on W. 24th St. in New York City, the site of the original A.A. clubhouse.

In 1946, the Times-Herald of Washington, DC reported,

    Eight new patients and six who were formerly treated at the Force School presented themselves as willing subjects for an alcoholic cure when the Polk Health Center Alcoholic Clinic for Negroes went into operation January 15. Co-operating with the new clinic is the Washington Negro Group of Alcoholics Anonymous, which meets Fridays and Sundays at 8:30 p.m. in the Y.M.C.A. at 1816 Twelfth St. NW. The group supplies volunteer clerical help for the clinic, and alcoholics who require group therapy are referred to the organization by the doctors.

In 1958, Ernest Jacoby died in Boston, Massachusetts. He had been the founder of the Jacoby Club, which helped alcoholic men and indigent older men in Boston, Massachusetts. His wife, Alice G. Hovey Jacoby, died about a day later.

In 2005, Esther C., 95, died in Kissimmee, Florida, with her family by her side. She got sober on 23 Jul 1943, when she was 12th-stepped by Clarence S. and four other A.A. members in Cleveland, Ohio. She used to ride from Cleveland to meetings in Akron on a “Little Indian Scout” motorcycle.

January 14 in A.A. History

Ruth Hock

In 1941, Ruth Hock [right] sent out A.A. Bulletin #2 noting that A.A. was starting in five more cities—St. Louis, Missouri already had ten members—and that there was some activity in Vancouver, British Columbia. The bulletin included a “Flash!!!” lead item that The Saturday Evening Post would be publishing an article on Alcoholics Anonymous by Jack Alexander and that there would likely be many inquiries in response to the article. Members and groups were warned to “stand by for active duty.”

Also in 1941, the Waterbury (CT) Democrat published an item about Alcoholics Anonymous in the eponymous syndicated column “Walter Winchell On Broadway”:

    There is a group called “Alcoholics Anonymous” in New York, the moving spirit being a well known transatlantic flyer [sic] … The group’s aim is to “straighten out any fellow who will even admit he drinks too much … They meet at an illustrator’s 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 know [sic] hohw [sic] to talk to a drunk.

January 13 in A.A. History

In 1941, just three months after the founding of A.A. in Toledo, Ohio, the nine original members who had gone to Akron to “learn” A.A. (and become what were then called “Trainers”), rented space on the 3rd floor of the J. George Kapp Building at 413 Summit St., and decided on a name: The Downtown Group. There were thirteen members at the time.
    A few months later, Jack Alexander’s article about A.A. appeared in The Saturday Evening Post. Soon, membership and recognition of A.A. increased substantially throughout the country, including Toledo. In just over a year, the Downtown Group grew to over 100 members. Weekly meetings averaged more than 40 attendees. It soon became apparent that the group had outgrown its meeting space, and it was decided to break up into smaller groups. Thus, A.A. in Toledo was born and began to grow.

In 1943, the first A.A. meeting in Toronto, Ontario was held without fanfare at the Little Denmark Restaurant at 720 Bay St. between Gerrard and College Streets. The non-alcoholic Revs. George Little and Percy Price met with six alcoholics. There was enough interest that a second meeting was scheduled for a week later. This was the birth of Alcoholics Anonymous in Ontario. Harry Emerson Fosdick's very positive review of the newly published Big Book, Alcoholics Anonymous, in January 1940…

    … stirred an interest in Dr. George A. Little, D.D., then a fifty-six year old Minister of the United Church of Toronto. Dr. Little had been a caring man who had unsuccessfully attempted to help alcoholics gain sobriety. Fosdick's review led him first to make copies of the book, then to order a personal copy of the Big Book for himself. Having read the book, he began in earnest mimeographing portions of it which he distributed to anyone he felt could further the cause or more importantly, to those he felt might be helped themselves. With his good intentions and tireless effort, people started to want more, and as a result, he ordered five copies of the Big Book in June, 1941. As an enthusiastic supporter of A.A., Dr. Little continued to be the alcoholics’ friend—so much so that he enrolled at the Yale University School of Alcoholic Studies from which he graduated in 1941.

In 1988, Dr. John L. “Jack” Norris, 85, died of complications from pneumonia at New London Hospital in New London, New Hampshire.
    Dr. Jack was born in Dorchester, Massachusetts, and graduated from Dartmouth College and McGill University Medical School. From 1943 to 1969, he was medical director of the Eastman Kodak Company in Rochester, N.Y. During this time, he developed expertise in the treatment of alcoholism, which he considered one of the nation’s most pressing medical problems. After retiring from Eastman Kodak in 1969, he founded Lake Sunapee Home Health Care Inc. of New London, a visiting nurse service, and the Hospice of the Kearsarge Valley, for terminally ill patients. He was chairman of Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller's Advisory Council on Alcoholism from 1961 to 1971, a Class A (non-alcoholic) Trustee of the General Service Board of Alcoholics Anonymous from 1951 to 1961, its chairman from 1961 to 1978, and a Trustee Emeritus until his death.

Dr. Earle M.

In 2003, Dr. Earle M. [left], 91, died in Walnut Creek, California. He sobered up on 15 June 1953; Bill W. was his sponsor and close friend. Earle’s story, “Physician Heal Thyself,” appeared in the 2nd, 3rd and 4th editions of Alcoholics Anonymous. He was buried at sea.

January 12 in A.A. History

Bill's 3rd pledge
written in the family Bible

In 1929, Bill W. wrote a third pledge [right] in the family Bible: “To tell you once more that I am finished with it. I love you.”

In 1966, Horace C., 75, died in Readington, New Jersey. He joined A.A. (#81?) in December 1938, shortly after Bill W. had written the Twelve Steps for what would become the Big Book, Alcoholics Anonymous.
    Bill and Lois W., who were homeless from April 1939 to April 1941, lived in his bungalow in Green Pond, New Jersey, in the spring of 1939.
    In 1940, Horace and Bert T. found the site and guaranteed the rent for the first A.A. clubhouse on 24th Street in Manhattan.
    That same year he became a Class B (alcoholic) Trustee of the Alcoholic Foundation. He was Vice-President of Works Publishing, Inc. when its financial report was published in June 1940.
    His picture appeared in Jack Alexander’s March 1941 article in The Saturday Evening Post, “Alcoholics Anonymous: Freed Slaves of Drink, Now They Free Others.”
    After Jack C. gave Ruth Hock a newspaper clipping of the Serenity Prayer, Horace suggested that they print it on wallet cards and then paid for the printing.       In the early 1940s, the Alcoholic Foundation sent him to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Baltimore, Maryland and Washington, D.C. to sound out groups and gain support for the Alcoholic Foundation’s headquarters in New York City.

January 11 in A.A. History

In 2008, a memorial service honoring Robert “Bob” P. was held in Sun Valley, Idaho following his death on January 1. Bob made significant contributions to Alcoholics Anonymous, serving on the General Service Board from 1968 to 1974 and as General Service Office (G.S.O.) General Manager from 1974 to 1984. His personal story, “A.A. Taught Him to Handle Sobriety,” is in the 3rd and 4th editions of the Big Book, Alcoholics Anonymous [see January 1 for more about Bob P.].

 

January 10 in A.A. History

In 1944, a letter, presumably sent to the Alcoholic Foundation in New York City, announced the first meeting of a group in Burlington, Iowa, with five members and a contingent from Des Moines, Iowa, to start them off. Also present was a Catholic priest, Father T. J. Lew, who was so taken with what he saw that he preached his Sunday sermon on A.A. By the end of the month, Des Moines membership would be up to 50, and a group would have started in Marshalltown, Iowa.

January 9 in A.A. History

In 1925, in Manchester Center, Vermont, an intoxicated Edwin “Ebby” T., driving home, drove his “straight eight” Packard across a large lot, onto the porch, through the door, and into the kitchen of Mrs. Kate Gilmore and her daughter Elizabeth, striking a stove in the middle of the room, moving it about a foot, and scattering soot. A water pipe was also broken, requiring an immediate call for a plumber to shut off the water. The only damage to the car was a broken fender.
    Neither Ebby, his two passengers, nor the Gilmores were injured. One passenger, realizing they were in a kitchen, “demanded a cup of hot coffee.” Ebby backed the car onto the highway, went to Justice of the Peace Frank Regan in Manchester, and reported the accident. He hadn’t gotten his new driver’s license yet, and the car had a 1924 New York license plate. The next day, Saturday, he was fined $50 [~$901 in 2025] + costs [left: page one article in The Bennington Herald, 12 Jan 1925].

In 1952, the first “Family Groups” office, called the “Clearing-house Committee” began operating out of the 24th Street Clubhouse in New York City. 

January 8 in A.A. History

In 1933, Russell “Bud” Firestone spoke at an Oxford Group meeting at Briarcliff Manor, New York. The next day, the Cleveland Plain Dealer would report:

    From polo player and pleasure-loving young man-about-town to a serious-minded follower of Dr. Frank N. D. Buchman, Princeton University’s famous pastor and leader of undergraduate spiritual thought, was the experience related last night by Russell (Bud) Firestone, son of Harvery S. Firestone, Akron (O.) tire manufacturer.…
    Firestone told of his college days at Princeton University and that his chief aim in life was to have a good time.
    He stated that now he was leading an entirely new life and that he had gained peace and happiness from following the lines of conduct incorporated in the new movement.…

Jim B.

In 1938, James “Jim” B. [right] came out of a two-week binge, “D-Day,” as he later called it. His mother only allowed him to come home (at age 39) if he…

stayed locked in a small storeroom and gave her my clothes and shoes.… That is way Jackie found me, lying on a cot in my skivvies, with hot and cold sweats, pounding heart, and that awful itchy scratchiness all over.

Jackie had been sent by Fitz Mayo, Jim’s old school friend. Jim commented

    Had he come two or three days later, I think I would have thrown him out, but he hit me when I was open for anything.
    Jackie arrived about seven in the evening and talked until three a.m. I don’t remember much of what he said, but I did realize that here was another guy exactly like me… Jackie told me about a group fellows in New York, of whom my old friend Fitz was one, who had the same problem I had, and who, by working together to help each other, were now not drinking and were happy like himself.

Jim would drink again in June, but then get and stay sober from June 16th on. His story in the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th editions of the Big Book, Alcoholics Anonymous, was “The Vicious Cycle.”

In 1939, Bill W. and Hank P. bought a pad of blank stock certificates at a stationery store. Back at the Newark, New Jersey office, Hank had Ruth Hock type “One Hundred Men Corporation, par value $25.00” at the top of each certificate. He then signed his name at the bottom: “Henry G. P▒▒▒▒▒, President.” Bill later called these “irregularities,” and said he protested at the time, but Hank replied that there was “no time to waste,” and besides, why bother with such “small details?”

January 7 in A.A. History

In 1939, after working out the details of selling stock in a publishing company to raise money and thereby retain ownership of what would become the Big Book, Alcoholics Anonymous, Bill W. and Hank P. “burn up the telephone to [Willard Richardson in] New York and even to Ohio where Frank Amos” was presumably enjoying a three-week vacation. They presented an outline of the new company and the stock plan, and asked a simple question, “Would you therefore be in favor that [we] make an effort to secure stock subscriptions for a corporation to take over the book on the terms [we] have just described?” Bill, at least, expected a bad reaction, and that is what they got. Neither Richardson nor Amos agreed, and both advised caution before taking any further steps

Bill's letter

In 1953, Bill W. sent out a manuscript of new essays on the Twelve Steps for “criticisms and suggestions.” His letter [left] reminded recipients that “last spring…” he had “circulated… a similar piece of writing on A.A.’s Twelve Traditions” and said that “since then, following considerable discussion, a plan had evolved to perhaps combine the two manuscripts into a single book [Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions]…” He noted that Harper & Bros. had made “a very favorable offer” to distribute the book to “the outside public,” and that he’d like to have the book approved by the General Service Conference in April.

In 1984, Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc. (AAWS) published Pass It On: The Story of Bill W—and how the A.A. message reached the world. Mel B. was the primary author, with assistance from a number of others.

January 6 in A.A. History

In 1941, Bill W. responded to a letter from Jack Alexander, who had enclosed a manuscript of his article on A.A., written for The Saturday Evening Post. Bill’s eagerness was evident:

    I wish I could adequately convey to you the sense of gratitude that every one of us feels towards you and the Saturday Post for what is about to take place. You can not possibly conceive the direct alleviation of so much misery as will be brought to an end through your pen and your good publishers. For many a day you will be the toast of A.A.—in Coca-Cola, of course!

In 1955, Bill W.’s stepmother, Christine Bock W., 77, died in Los Angeles, California. She would be buried with Bill’s father in the East Dorset (Vermont) Cemetery.

A Concordance to
Alcoholics Anonymous

In 2000, Stephen P., 63, died at Washoe Medical Center, in Reno, Nevada, after a 6½-year battle with chronic myelogenous leukemia. Stephen—with his wife Frances—compiled A Concordance to Alcoholics Anonymous [right], first published in August 1990.
    Under the pseudonym Stephen Whitfield, with minimal contributions from Gene Roddenberry, he also wrote the classic book The Making of Star Trek, the first—and for many years the only—specialized reference book on behind-the-scenes aspects of Star Trek production, published in 1968.