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.