November 27 in A.A. History

In 1939, Ohio’s Cleveland Plain Dealer published an unsigned article [left] titled “Watches Religion Save Alcoholics,” which reported on and quoted extensively from a sermon delivered the previous day by Rev. Dilworth Lupton [near right] at the First Unitarian Church [far right]. The sermon was based on Lupton’s experience with a “Mr. X” Among many details, the article said, “Lupton noted that there was room in A.A. for all creeds, through the concept of God as ‘a Power greater than ourselves.’ Such an attitude ‘displays nothing short of genius,’ he said.”

    In reality, Mr. X was Clarence S. [left], who would start the first A.A. group in Cleveland the following year.  While Clarence was still drinking, his wife Dorothy [right] had often pleaded with Lupton to intervene and talk to Clarence. Lupton did so on several occasions, but Clarence was unable and unwilling to stop drinking. Eventually, Lupton gave up and advised Dorothy to turn her husband’s problem over to God. She responded that was exactly what she had done when she sought his help. However, Lupton explained that there was nothing more to be done and that all that was left was prayer—lots of prayer.

    After Clarence sobered up in Akron, Ohio, Dorothy returned to Rev. Lupton, this time to invite him to see the miraculous “new cure” in action. Lupton replied that as far as he was concerned, as long as this “cure” was associated with the Oxford Group, it didn’t stand a chance, and he couldn’t be a part of it. “Nothing good could come out of the Oxford Group,” he said.
    After the Cleveland A.A. Group split from the Oxford Group, Dorothy approached Rev. Lupton once more, bringing A.A.’s Big Book, Alcoholics Anonymous, and the names of some Roman Catholic members. In 1954, Dorothy reflected on that visit:

    I felt that now we had fallen away from Akron, now there was no Oxford Group, Dr. Lupton should be interested. So I went back to him and said we were no longer an Oxford Group, and asked him to please come to a meeting. 
     He read it [the Big Book], and he said that he would definitely come to one of our meetings. He did, and he was so impressed that he said, “Dorothy, you go back to the Plain Dealer and you tell them that I’m going to preach on A.A.” 
    That was for publicity. He was one of the really big Protestant ministers in Cleveland, and what he said was good copy.

    As a result of the Plain Dealer article, the Cleveland Group was inundated with calls and inquiries. In 1954, Dorothy recalled, “within… about two weeks, our meetings grew from about 15 to 100.” In 1940, Dorothy wrote to Ruth Hock and Hank P. about the aftermath:

    A few sourpusses pinned Clarence to the cross in no uncertain fashion last night, exploiting “paid publicity, profit for the book, liar,” and whatnot. It hurt, I know, as they were all people he had helped. But how it is making him grow!

    Clarence himself said:

    When the [Plain Dealer] article appeared, it stirred up a hornet’s nest It wasn’t great literature, but it had a tremendous effect. Someone said, This guy is a reporter. He’s gonna put our names in the paper! 
    “No” I said, “he's one of us—a rummy.” 
    “Yeah, he's a rummy all right, but he's a newspaperman.” 
    It didn't make any difference. They were against it.

    In 1977, Warren C. [left] recalled:

    There was hell to pay when those stories broke. I mean, they really lacerated him [Clarence]. Of course, it was the greatest move that was ever made for A.A. [In Cleveland] A.A. started in a riot. It grows in riots, We got upset by the Plain Dealer business, We thought Clarence was going to ‘get money,’ and voted him out of the group. He took others with him and started another group.