April 17 in A.A. History

In 1937, Albert “Abby” G. [right] was admitted to Akron City Hospital in Ohio by Dr. Bob S., marking his first day of sobriety. The first Cleveland group met at his house [left] on May 11th, while he was still in Akron. His story, “He Thought He Could Drink Like a Gentleman,” appears in the 2nd and 3rd Editions of Alcoholics Anonymous.

In 1939, a week after the first printing of Alcoholics Anonymous, the dust jackets were printed, adding $147.47 [~$3,393 in 2025] to Works Publishing’s bill. Copies shipped prior to this may have been enclosed in glassine wrappers—thin, almost transparent paper coverings—or other types of non-descript wrappers. No copy with such a cover is known to exist, but it would be extremely valuable if one were ever to appear [left: 1st ed. without, with dust jacket].

In 1941, Herman “Tex” A. [near right, at Hole in the Ground] established the Hole in the Ground Group, the second A.A. group in the Los Angeles, California, area. He was the older brother of Sybil C. [far right, at Hole in the Ground], the first woman in A.A. west of the Mississippi River, having joined A.A. one week after she did. Both had been attending meetings in Los Angeles when Tex remarked, “I’m just sick of picking up guys in Long Beach and driving them thirty-five miles [~56 km] to Los Angeles, so I’m starting a group at the halfway point.” This decision displeased the “down town boys,” who “excommunicated” Tex, but he just laughed it off. He appointed Sybil as the coffee maker and greeter for the new group, and she delivered her first “shaky” lead there.
    On 7 December 1941, the group would move to 6909 Rugby Ave., Huntington Park, California.

In 2018, Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc. (AAWS) launched a YouTube channel [left] featuring three videos: “Doors,” “My World,” and “I Have Hope,” all available in English, French, and Spanish.