October 9 in A.A. History

In 1937, while Sterling P. and his wife drove separately to Akron, Ohio, Bill [near right] and Kathleen R. from Hackettstown, New Jersey, picked up Bill and Lois W. [far right, c. 1937] in Brooklyn at noon to travel to Akron. The four of them stopped for the night in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. [Bill W. typically—and erroneously—referred to this event as occurring “in late fall,” and that it also included trips by him to Cleveland and Detroit to look for work. Dr. Bob and the Good Oldtimers states—also erroneously—that it was in November, while others incorrectly date it to 1936.]

Today in A.A. History—October 9–11

In 1969, the first World Service Meeting (WSM) took place in the East Room of the Roosevelt Hotel in New York City, attended by 27 delegates from 16 countries: [left: WSM banner, country flags]:

Australia	Belgium	Canada	Costa Rica	Colombia
England	Finland	French Europe†	Germany	Guatemala
Holland	Mexico	New Zealand	Norway	South Africa
United States
†Delegates from Belgium and France represented all of French-speaking Europe.

    The theme of the WSM was “Our Common Welfare” [below: World Service Meeting images—Big Book display, map of nations represented, East Room of the Roosevelt, pamphlet display].