May 20 in A.A. History

In 1908, Sybil Doris A. [left: a young Sybil with her two older brothers] was born to Addie Jones and Henry A., poor but hardworking parents, in Melrose, New Mexico (probably at 108 Fifth Street, where the family was living in 1910 [right: 100 block, Aug 2019]). They soon moved to the small oil town of Simmons, Texas.

    Sybil began drinking around the age of 14 after her family relocated to Los Angeles, California, from Texas. She had a child with her first husband, James Stratton, a sailor. She believed that having the child would help her stop drinking, but instead, she drank more than ever. Eventually, her parents took the child from her.

    In 1928, she married Lyle Hart, with whom she had two children—one who died the day she was born in 1929 and another in 1931. They lived at 7319 S. Halldale Street [left, Dec 2017] in Los Angeles. In 1938, she married Richard M., and they lived for many years at 7711 S. Figueroa Street, Los Angeles [right: Sybil as a young adult].

    As Sybil M., she became the first woman west of the Mississippi to get sober in Alcoholics Anonymous (A.A.). She later became best known by her fourth and second-to-last married name, Sybil C.

In 1938, two days after receiving an advance from Charles B. Towns, Bill W., who had been sober for less than 3½ years, began writing the book that would eventually become Alcoholics Anonymous. He likely began with his own story, marking the first of three attempts. This initial effort remains as a handwritten manuscript of fourteen paragraphs on eight sheets of yellow legal paper, titled “The Strange Obsession” [left: page 1].

In 1941, the 15th A.A. group in the Cleveland, Ohio area was formed and met at 12214 Detroit Ave. [right, Nov 2015], Lakewood, Ohio, with 16 members. It was the first known women’s group.