In 1938, in Lois Remembers, Lois Wilson will recall this date as the first time the term “Alcoholics Anonymous” was first used.
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In 1945, Jeannie C. held the first A.A. meeting in Springfield, Missouri at her
home, 1950 S. Jefferson Ave.
[right, Mar 2016].
During World War II, Jeannie temporarily lived at the Bellerive* Hotel, a prominent and historic apartment hotel located at 214 East Armour Boulevard in Kansas City, Missouri, where she first tried to stay sober. After several setbacks, she came across Jack Alexander’s article in The Saturday Evening Post titled “Alcoholics Anonymous: Freed Slaves of Drink, Now They Free Others.” She reached out to the Alcocolic Foundation in New York City and was connected with A.A. members in St. Louis. However, maintaining communication from Kansas City proved difficult. Almost by chance, Jeannie said, she noticed an ad in a Kansas City newspaper for people with a drinking problem. She wrote to the listed P.O. Box, which connected her to the Kansas City Number One group, where she ultimately found sobriety.
After two years of sobriety, Jeannie returned to Springfield. She stayed sober for two years by making frequent trips to Kansas City, despite gas rationing, and by corresponding with Bobbie B. at the Alcoholic Foundation office in New York City. Encouraged by the group, she wrote an editorial about A.A. for the local Springfield paper and secured a post office box. After gathering a dozen names, she organized Springfield’s first group meeting at her home on January 15.
Later, Jeannie played a crucial role in establishing A.A. in Joplin, Missouri, after receiving a call from Jim S. asking how to start a group. In response, Jeannie rallied several carloads of members from Springfield and Kansas City and descended on Joplin.
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* The document “A Journey into Sobriety: A History of Alcoholics Anonymous [in] Springfield, Missouri” states that it was the “Bellflower Hotel.” However, there is no evidence of a hotel by that name in Kansas City, suggesting that this may be a misspelling of “Bellerive Hotel [left].”
During World War II, Jeannie temporarily lived at the Bellerive* Hotel, a prominent and historic apartment hotel located at 214 East Armour Boulevard in Kansas City, Missouri, where she first tried to stay sober. After several setbacks, she came across Jack Alexander’s article in The Saturday Evening Post titled “Alcoholics Anonymous: Freed Slaves of Drink, Now They Free Others.” She reached out to the Alcocolic Foundation in New York City and was connected with A.A. members in St. Louis. However, maintaining communication from Kansas City proved difficult. Almost by chance, Jeannie said, she noticed an ad in a Kansas City newspaper for people with a drinking problem. She wrote to the listed P.O. Box, which connected her to the Kansas City Number One group, where she ultimately found sobriety.
After two years of sobriety, Jeannie returned to Springfield. She stayed sober for two years by making frequent trips to Kansas City, despite gas rationing, and by corresponding with Bobbie B. at the Alcoholic Foundation office in New York City. Encouraged by the group, she wrote an editorial about A.A. for the local Springfield paper and secured a post office box. After gathering a dozen names, she organized Springfield’s first group meeting at her home on January 15.
Later, Jeannie played a crucial role in establishing A.A. in Joplin, Missouri, after receiving a call from Jim S. asking how to start a group. In response, Jeannie rallied several carloads of members from Springfield and Kansas City and descended on Joplin.
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* The document “A Journey into Sobriety: A History of Alcoholics Anonymous [in] Springfield, Missouri” states that it was the “Bellflower Hotel.” However, there is no evidence of a hotel by that name in Kansas City, suggesting that this may be a misspelling of “Bellerive Hotel [left].”
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In 1953, Dr. Earle M. [right], author of
“Physician Heal Thyself” in the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th editions of
Alcoholics Anonymous, had his last drink and drug. Harry H. a friend and
A.A. member, took him to his first A.A. meeting the following week at the
Tuesday Night Mill Valley group, which was meeting in Wesley Hall at the
Methodist Church in Mill Valley, California. Only four other people attended: a
butcher, a carpenter, a baker, and Harry, a mechanic/inventor. From the start,
Earle loved A.A., and although he sometimes critiqued the program, his devotion
remained unwavering.
In 1969, n a letter to the International Conference of Young People in
Alcoholics Anonymous (ICYPAA), Bill W. wrote,
… in recent years I have found nothing for greater inspiration than the knowledge that A.A. of tomorrow will be safe, and certainly magnificent, in the keeping of you who are the younger generation of A.A. today.
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