August 23 in A.A. History

In 1895, Junius C. Jr. [right: at the U.S. Naval Academy, c. 1915] was born in McComb, Mississippi, to Junius Sr. and Thomasine C. He was the middle child among three surviving sons. Tragically, his father died when Junius was just two years old. His older brother, Joe, had died at the age of 11 months in 1889, six years before Junius's birth.
    Later in life, Junius would become a founder of Alcoholics Anonymous in Jacksonville, Florida.

In 1940, the Berea Group was started [on August 27, according to How It Worked] at the home of Bob J. near Cleveland, Ohio. It branched off from the Lakewood Group and initially had eight members. Soon after, it would relocate to the St. Thomas Episcopal Church [left, with Ogilvy Chapel to its right] Parish Hall in Berea, Ohio.
    By the end of its first year, the group had grown to thirty members. An announcement in the August 1943 issue of the Central Bulletin provided details about the group and its meeting location:

    This group is noted for its friendliness and hospitality.… Berea has most unusual quarters. It meets in the delightfully simple rooms of the Parish Hall of St. Thomas’ which is itself a tiny jewel of a church on the very edge of the Baldwin-Wallace campus. The tall elms and maples, the broad stretches of lawn, the quiet of this charming village plus the dignity and serenity of the church all lend an air of peace and rest to these pleasant meetings. Any of you who have ever attended a Berea meeting will never forget it.