August 5 in A.A. History

In 1917, Congress called up the National Guard into federal service, enabling the U.S. Army to gather manpower to fight alongside the Allies against the Central Powers^* in Europe during the Great War (World War I). The National Guard contributed significantly to the forces that secured victory in the war.

    At Norwich University, where Bill W. was studying, students were required to be members of the Vermont National Guard. Thus, he was among those called up. 
^*The Central Powers included the German Empire, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, and Bulgaria, collectively known as the Quadruple Alliance.

In 1938, the Alcoholic Foundation was legally established as a charitable, tax-exempt organization to provide a formally incorporated, New York-based center for what would become Alcoholics Anonymous. Frank Amos [far left] recruited John E.F. Wood [near left], a non-alcoholic attorney from Dewey, Ballentine, Bushby, Palmer & Wood, to handle the legal work.

    The Foundation was officially formed with the signing and delivery of a 13-page “Trust Indenture,” prepared by Wood. The initial trustees were Wood, Frank Amos (nonalcoholic), Williard Richardson (nonalcoholic) [near right], Bill R. [far right] (who had accompanied Bill W. to Akron in October 1937), and Dr. Bob S. 

An Advisory Board was elected by the new Trustees, comprising Bill W., Hank P., Albert Scott [left] (nonalcoholic), and A. LeRoy Chipman [right] (nonalcoholic).

    The deed of trust required that non-alcoholic trustees constitute a majority. One challenge Wood encountered while drafting this document was the inability to legally define the difference between an alcoholic and a non-alcoholic. To address this, the terms Class A and Class B were created to distinguish between non-alcoholic and alcoholic board members, respectively.
    Richardson served on the board until April 1949, when he became the first Trustee Emeritus, a position he held until his death in 1952. Wood’s term on the board was short; he resigned in December 1939 after focusing on the original Trust Agreement document. 

    Bill R., whose story “A Business Man’s Recovery” appears in the first edition of Alcoholics Anonymous, was the first President (later called Chairman of the Board). He submitted his resignation^* in December, due to the stress of work and a newborn at home.  His resignation was not accepted until February. Harry B.^† [left], whose story “A Different Slant” is also in the first edition of Alcoholics Anonymous, was then elected to succeed Bill R., who subsequently joined the Advisory Board.

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^*An often-repeated myth is that Ruddell resigned because he drank. He did not.
^†In the chapter “More About Alcoholism,” “Fred” is a pseudonym for Harry Brick.