April 11 in A.A. History

In 1939, The New York Times published a small ad [right] prepared by Hank P. for the book Alcoholics Anonymous. It appeared on page 2 and cost $200 [~$4,600 in 2025]. This investment proved beneficial in two ways: it generated a significant number of direct responses, and 2½ months later, The New York Times published a positive review of the book, which was among Hank’s hoped-for outcomes.

In 1939, after Bill W. set aside one copy of the first printing of Alcoholics Anonymous as a Christmas gift for Lois and sent two copies to the Library of Congress as part of the copyright registration process, he and Hank P. sent the next 29 copies to the authors of the stories in the back of the book. The following 40 copies were sent to non-alcoholic subscribers of Works Publishing’s stock. This left only 40 copies availble for sale, which, at the list price of $3.50 [~$80 in 2025], would have raised only $140 [~$3,200 in 2025] for the Alcoholic Foundation.

In 1939, Margaret “Marty” M. [left: at Blythewood Sanitarium, 4 Jul 1938] attended her first A.A. meeting at the home of Bill and Lois W., located at 182 Clinton Street in Brooklyn.

In 1941, Bill and Lois W. moved into their own home [right] in Bedford Hills, which they named “Bil-Lo’s Break.” This followed nearly two years of living in 52 different places—according to Lois’s count—after the mortgage holder foreclosed on the Burnham home at 182 Clinton Street in Brooklyn, where Lois had been born and lived until 1929, except for the last two years before the 1929 stock market crash. In 1944, they renamed their Bedford Hills home “Stepping Stones.”