July 27 in A.A. History

In 1938, at the request of Bill W., Dr. William D. Silkworth [right] wrote a letter of recommendation titled “To Whom It May Concern” [left] to support fundraising for the book that would eventually become Alcoholics Anonymous. This letter, in modified form, constituted the first part of Silkworth’s contribution to the chapter “The Doctor’s Opinion.” The second part of his contribution was likely submitted just before the Multilith printing in February 1939.

In 1941, Dale A. [left], who had written the Alcoholic Foundation in March after reading Jack Alexander’s article in The Saturday Evening Post, attended his first A.A. meeting. Soon he would be holding meetings in his home across the street from the North City Tavern [right, c. 1927]* in Shoreline, Washington, and would eventually become what many people consider the founding father of A.A. in Seattle, Washington.

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^*17554 15th Ave NE: located 10.6 mi [17.06 km] north of Seattle, it was built as a grocery store in 1927, and is still there, known since 1990 as the North City Lounge.