July in A.A. History (day unknown)

In 1934, Bill and Lois W. returned to their home in Brooklyn after spending another month in the Green River, Vermont, on property owned by Bill’s sister Dorothy and her husband, Dr. Leonard V. Strong. Upon their return, Bill fell back into heavy drinking [below: map showing, south to north, Brooklyn, NY; Green River, VT; and East Dorset/Emerald Lake, VT (in gold)].

In 1934, Ebby T. [left] was approached in Manchester, Vermont, by his friends Cebra G. [near right], a lawyer, and Sheppard “Shep” Cornell [far right], a stockbroker from New York City.  Both were members of the Oxford Group and had previously been heavy drinkers, and specifically drinking buddies with Ebby. They had stopped drinking and were now sober. They told Ebby about the existence of the Oxford Group in Vermont, but he wasn’t quite ready to give up alcohol.

In 1934, Bill W. was admitted to Charles B. Towns Hospital [left] for the second time, again paid for by Dr. Leonard V. Strong, his sister’s husband. During this stay, Bill met Dr. Silkworth [right] for the first time. The doctor explained the concepts of obsession and allergy related to alcoholism. However, shortly after his release, Bill started drinking again. At this point, he was unemployable, over $50,000 in debt [~$1.2 million in 2025], suicidal, and drinking around the clock.

In 1935, [August?] Lois W. traveled to Akron, Ohio, to spend two weeks with her husband, Bill, at the home of Dr. Bob and Anne S., located at 855 Ardmore Ave. [left]. Bill had been in Akron since at least April and had been staying with the Bob and Anne since late May.

In 1935, encouraged by T. Henry Williams [left], Ernie G.—the “devil-may-care chap” in “A Vision for You” (pp. 158–159 of Alcoholics Anonymous)—reached out to Dr. Bob Smith and got sober. At just 30 years old, some believed he was “too young” to get sober. He became the fourth member of A.A. and authored “The Seven Month Slip” in the first edition of the Big Book, Alcoholics Anonymous.

    In September 1941, he would marry Dr. Bob Smith’s adopted daughter, Sue, but he struggled with continuing to drink, leading to their marriage becoming a disaster. Tragically, on 11 June 1969, their daughter Bonna would take her own life after killing her 6-year-old daughter—Ernie and Sue’s granddaughter—Sandy. Ernie died exactly two years later [right: Ernie and Sue in happier times].