April 7 in A.A. History

In 1939, Ruth Hock [left] wrote to Edward Blackwell, president of Cornwall Publishing, instructing him on where to deliver the first copies of Alcoholics Anonymous once printing was completed. She requested 6 copies be sent to Frank Amos [near right] and 12 to Willard Richardson [far right], both of whom were non-alcoholic trustees of the Alcoholic Foundation. Ruth added, “It is Mr. [Hank] P[—–]’s understanding that these will be delivered on Monday, April 10th, without fail.” Amos planned to take all 6 copies to Ohio where he was going the following day, while Richardson requested 2 for himself and the remaining 10 for the Foundation.

    On the same day, Hank wrote to both men, informing them to expect the book on Monday and asking for payment as soon as possible. Knowing that Richardson was ill, Amos contacted A. LeRoy Chipman [left], another non-alcoholic trustee, and requested that he accept delivery on behalf of the Alcoholic Foundation.

In 1941, Ruth Hock reported that the Alcoholic Foundation had received 1,500 letters asking for help following the publication of Jack Alexander’s article “Alcoholics Anonymous: Freed Slaves of Drink, Now They Free Others” in the March 1 issue of The Saturday Evening Post [right: cover].

    It was clear that Ruth, Bill W., and Margaret “Bobbie” B. [left] could not handle the mail on their own. Form letters would not suffice; each letter required a thoughtful, personal reply. Fortunately, they had anticipated this challenge. In preparation for the expected influx, Lois W., Bill’s wife, organized everyone who could type into teams and scheduled those who could not type to answer the phones. Despite their efforts, they were overwhelmed by the volume of requests, which ultimately reached 8,000. It took them 5 to 6 weeks to respond to all the letters.

In 1944, David “Dave” B. [right] got sober in A.A. He became a founder of A.A. in the province of Quebec and served as a Class B (alcoholic) Trustee from 1962–64. His story, “Gratitude In Action,” appeared in the 4th edition of the Big Book, Alcoholics Anonymous.