February 19 in A.A. History

In 1917, Robert P. [right: with his wife, Betsy] was born in Kansas City, Missouri, the only child of his somewhat nomadic parents, Agnes Greenlees and Ridley Stillson P.
    He did not receive formal schooling until the third grade but quickly excelled academically, skipping grades and graduating with honors from Kansas University in 1938 with a Bachelor of Arts. While at KU, he served as editor of both the university’ s humor magazine and yearbook.
    A skilled writer, Bob became the center of a national scandal when a Scribner’s Magazine article, “Ghost Behind the Grade,” published in 1938, revealed that he had paid his way through college by ghostwriting hundreds of grade-specific papers for students across dozens of classes and seven universities. “Both the Associated Press and the United Press carried it,” Bob recalled in a 2004 interview. “It almost cost me my diploma.”
    His writing career took him to New York City, where he worked in public relations for Shell Oil Co. from 1938 to 1971. While there, he met and married Betsy Dodge.
    When World War II began, Bob enlisted as a U.S. Navy officer and served as a gunnery officer aboard a destroyer escort, participating in numerous Atlantic convoys. He also wrote speeches for a Navy admiral and two U.S. presidents—Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry Truman. His ship played a key role in the historic capture of a German U-boat north of the Azores—just days before D-Day. This marked the first time a submarine was boarded and seized intact, preserving its hardware and Enigma radio codes, later dramatized in the film U-571. Bob was honorably discharged in 1945 with the rank of lieutenant commander.
    After the war, Bob and Betsy settled in Riverside, Connecticut. His most notable achievements at Shell Oil involved the company’s sponsorship of major sports. Working with NBC, he played a crucial role in popularizing golf by bringing the sport to live television for the first time with Shell’s Wonderful World of Golf. He was also involved in Shell’s sponsorship of Craig Breedlove’s mid-1960s pursuit of the world land speed record in a jet-propelled car at the Bonneville Salt Flats.
    However, it was Bob’s personal struggles that ultimately defined his life. He developed an addiction to alcohol during his Navy service, and two decades later, nearly died from the disease. In 1961, doctors urged him to join a fledgling Alcoholics Anonymous group in Greenwich, Connecticut. He did, found sobriety and dedicated himself to nearly 50 years of service to the organization.
    In 1980, Bob and Betsy moved to Bellevue, Idaho, eventually making it their permanent home. There, Bob continued his work with A.A. as a speaker and contributor to its national archives.

 In 1940, Time magazine published a brief item titled “Medicine: Alcoholics Anonymous,” highlighting the 60-person Rockefeller dinner meeting held earlier in the month, where A.A. members and supporters gathered.

In 1940, Newsweek magazine featured an item titled “Alcoholics Anonymous” in its Science Column. The article began:

    Medicine usually claims to cure only about 2 per cent of the cases of acute alcoholism it treats. Last week a non-medi­cal group appeared which made the unusual claim that 25 per cent of its cases were cured. Called Alcoholics Anony­mous, the group was a club composed of ex-drunkards and men trying to overcome the liquor habit who, for obvious reasons, prefer their names to remain unknown. Not particularly anxious for publicity, it nevertheless came into the limelight last Thursday evening when John D. Rockefeller Jr. gave a dinner party for educators and others interested in the club’s work. 

In 1941, Bill W. wrote to the trustees of the Alcoholic Foundation Board regarding the budget for the upcoming year. Excerpts [edited]:

    Many new groups have been formed. Our membership has tripled, now totaling about 2,000... An article is to appear on March 1 in the Saturday Evening Post... The name Alcoholics Anonymous will appear on the outside cover. Our message will be brought to the whole nation—nearly a million alcoholics will hear of us… only a very small proportion of our book sales have come directly from the groups. The general public still buys most of the books... the Alcoholic Foundation should set up a special account called ‘AA operating expenses.’ All contributions from the groups should be segregated in this fund... each group is entitled to know exactly how such money is spent... an accounting ought to be made by the Trustees every six months showing [finances]…

In 1941, The Park City Daily News of Bowling Green, Kentucky, reported on the formation of a new A.A. group in Hopkinsville.

In 1953, After reading a quip that Father Ed Dowling had written on a Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions draft—“It has a little bit of the elder statesman smell of the lamp”—Bill W. responded with humor: “We have given the manuscript a heavy dose of chlorophyll to deaden that elder statesman smell.”

In 1967, Father “John Doe” (Ralph P.) [left], believed to be the first Catholic priest in A.A., passed away. Glenn C. later recounted:

    His niece told me that a physician gave Ralph a shot for airsickness and inadvertently used a contaminated needle. Father Ralph contracted hepatitis, and all the efforts made by the doctors at Our Lady of Mercy Hospital in Owensboro could not save him.

    Father Ralph had achieved permanent sobriety in Indianapolis on 10 November 1943. He was widely known for his Golden Books series and other recovery-related writings.

In 2017, Mel B. [right], 91, sober from 15 April 1950, died of heart and lung failure at Mercy Health St. Anne Hospital in Toledo, Ohio. A retired public relations manager for Libbey-Owens-Ford Co., he was a prolific writer, contributing to The Toledo Blade and authoring many books and articles, including Pass It On and many pieces for the A.A. Grapevine.