October 5 in A.A. History

In 1943, The Bangor (Maine) Daily News published an interview with Jack Alexander titled “Writer Whose Saturday Evening Post Article First Made ‘Alcoholics Anonymous’ Known Tells Daily News of Early Skepticism” [right]. Here is an excerpt from the interview:

    “Four AA’s called to see me one afternoon,” he said. “They were well dressed and seemed affluent—apparently men of affairs. And as they sat drinking Coca-Cola, which was all they seemed to want, they talked smoothly of their own experiences.
    “Was I convinced? Far from it. My skepticism only grew. I remember thinking: ‘They could be Broadway actors from some casting bureau.’
    “I had talks with a man I will call Bill—a disarming guy, who, as I once wrote, knew the folklore of alcoholism. And, with him, I attended two meetings of an AA group in downtown New York—West 22nd Street, I believe. Here, anyway, were men it was easy to recognize as genuine alcoholics. And I learned that once a week they were bringing from a certain asylum for the insane some supposedly helpless inmates—sufferers from ‘wet brain’—and working on them. I learned, too, from asylum officials, that some were being cured.
    “Well, I was impressed—quite deeply impressed—but the skepticism remained. I didn’t want the Post victimized, intentionally or through a mistaken crusading spirit. And yet, and yet—
    “Was I being unjust? Was I trying to shut my eyes to something and big and vital and needed by suffering humanity? I decided to investigate in other cities.
    “I first drove to Philadelphia, where two AAs took me to the psychopathic ward of the Philadelphia General Hospital. I saw how the AAs worked upon the alcoholic patients, some of them shaken from tremendous ‘binges.’ When they got out, I was told, they would be taken to a general meeting, and it would be the start of their cooperative cure.
    “Deeply interested by this time, I next went to Akron, where the movement had started. And it was in this Ohio city, I believe, that I at last became convinced. Here I paid hospital visits, attended meetings, heard testimonials. I began to see that it all fell into a general pattern, whatever the community.
    “Followed, then, a visit to Cleveland, where the movement was growing like a snowball rolling down hill; and to Chicago, where my conversion was complete. For here I met a man who had been assistant city editor of a daily paper at a time when I was supposed to be the star reporter. He was a city editor now and getting along well. Yes, he had been an alcoholic: and he told me how he had walked through the shadows. We talked the same language and it was a language that didn’t lie.
    “The climax for me came in St. Louis, which is my home town. Here, in A. A. group meetings, I met old friends—school chums, some of them, Even I hadn’t guessed they were alcoholics, What they told me was convincing: I was sold, if ever a man was sold.”

In 1988, Lois Burnham W. [left], 97, Bill’s widow, died peacefully at Northern Westchester Hospital in Mt. Kisco, New York, near Stepping Stones, her home in Bedford Hills. She made significant contributions to Alcoholics Anonymous and was a founder of Al-Anon Family Groups. Michael Alexander, former Class A trustee and chairman of the General Service Board of Alcoholics said, “Many A.A.s today feel their lives are owed to Lois as well as Bill, Dr. Bob and Anne S—–.”

Today in A.A. History—October 5–7

In 1972, the 2nd World Service Meeting (WSM) took place at the Roosevelt Hotel in New York City. The theme was “Our Primary Purpose.” The meeting was attended by twenty-nine delegates from sixteen countries listed below, from across five continents, and included trustees and staff from the US/Canada General Service Office (GSO) and the A.A. Grapevine office:

Australia	Belgium	Canada	Columbia	Costa Rica
England	Finland	France	Germany	Guatemala
Holland	Ireland*	Mexico	New Zealand	Nicaragua*†
Norway	South Africa	Sweden	United States	England
*First-time attendees; struck-out = countries not returning; †represented Central America, including Costa Rica and Guatemala.

    Discussion topics included anonymity, the A.A. Grapevine, professional relations, publishing and literature policies, finance, and the service structures of the fifteen General Service Offices represented. For the first time, the delegates also addressed the internal organization and procedures of the WSM; their recommendations have been followed ever since, with certain amendments. However, the agenda items of greatest interest were likely the location and timing of the next World Service Meeting—if there was to be one—as well as financing and voting procedures.

In 1978, the 5th World Service Meeting (WSM) took place at the Hanasaari^* Hotel on Hanasaari Island [right], in Espoo, Finland, near Helsinki. The theme was “Recovery, Unity, Service—Worldwide.” The countries represented were:

Australia	Belgium	Brazil	Canada	Colombia
El Salvador	Finland	French Europe†	Guatemala	Honduras
Ireland	Mexico	New Zealand	Nicaragua	Norway
South Africa	Sweden	United Kingdom	United States	West Germany
†Delegates from Belgium and France represented all of French-speaking Europe.

    A proposal for an Asia-Oceania Service Meeting (AOSM) was introduced by Bob P. from New Zealand, who initially conceived the idea. This marked the beginning of discussions that ultimately led to the first AOSM meeting in Tokyo, Japan, in 1995.

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^*Hanaholmen in Swedish, literally meaning “rooster-hen.”