In 1939, taking the copy of the multilith manuscript of the Big Book with all the handwritten edits, Hank P. [near right] drove with Bill W. [center right, 1937] and Ruth Hock [far right] 60 miles north from New York City to Cornwall, New York, where the book was to be printed by Cornwall Press [left, early 1900s]. They all went, as Ruth later explained, because “we couldn’t afford anyone to correct the pages as they came off [the press, and] edit them…” It’s also true that no one but these three could have done the job.
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Dorothy Wright S. [right]—wife of Clarence S., who started Alcoholics Anonymous in Cleveland, Ohio—joined them on this trip; Ruth said that she was already in town visiting her sister. Dorothy had called Bill, who invited her to meet them in Cornwall, which she did. The four of them spent the day working on corrections, shared dinner, and then retired to three hotel rooms at the Cornwall Inn [left].
Ruth and Dorothy “immediately developed a perfect rapport,” which was fortunate since they shared the third room, which had a large double bed. They “were talking, and talking, and talking” until about 1:30 or 2:00 in the morning when they heard a knock on their door. It was Bill, who couldn’t sleep. The three of them spent the rest of the night talking, with Bill positioned between the two women. It was all very innocent, and Ruth later wrote to Bill that it was “one of the most satisfying and joyous memories of my life.… How wicked that sounds, but how innocent and wonderful it really was.” Bill agreed, calling it “one of my precious moments.”
In 1943, the Charleston Daily Mail reported that Bill W. spoke at St. John’s Parish House, which may have been the first A.A. meeting in West Virginia, established in March 1942 by Irwin “Irv” M.
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Note 2: Rule 62 originated with one of Charleston’s groups.
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