June 17 in A.A. History

1926: Katharine “Kitty” Burnham (Lois W.’s sister) [near right, 1924] and Gardner Swentzel [far right, 1916] were married at the Church of the New Jerusalem in Brooklyn. The Burnhams then held a “very small” reception at their nearby home, 182 Clinton Street [left: “Miss Katharine Burnham Sets June 17 as Wedding Day,” Brooklyn Daily Eagle, 2 May 1926].
    Bill and Lois had interrupted their motorcycle tour in Alabama to attend the wedding. On their way, they had an accident outside Dayton, Tennessee, where Bill broke his collarbone and Lois twisted her leg, resulting in “water on the knee.” They spent a week recovering and then, after a few more days, shipped their motorcycle and belongings home while they took the train. As Lois described it:

    Although we were in plenty of time for the wedding, I made a sorry looking matron of honor, when, with red gashes on my face, I limped up the aisle.

1935: Modern historical research indicates that Dr. Bob S.’s last drink occurred on this date, not June 10, the widely believed date and official founding date of Alcoholics Anonymous.
    Dr. Bob S. [right] had decided to attend the annual American Medical Association convention in Atlantic City, New Jersey, from June 10 to 14. He had started drinking on the train from Akron, bought several bottles of booze in Atlantic City, and checked into his hotel. On the first day of the convention, he had remained sober until after dinner, then binged for three or four days. A drunken Dr. Bob ultimately ended up at Union Station in Akron. He must have called his office nurse, Lily, who had picked him up and took him to her home in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. Dr. Bob’s wife, Anne [far left], and Bill W. [near left] had come to pick him up. With Bill’s help, Bob spent three days sobering up.
    Facing surgery at Akron City Hospital, he made a pivotal decision:

    I am going through with this—I have placed both the operation and myself in God’s hands. I’m going to do what it takes to get sober and stay that way.

    Before the surgery, Bill gave Bob his last drink—a beer—and a “goofball” (a barbiturate) to help steady him. The surgery was apparently successful. However, Bob didn’t come home right away, which worried Anne and Bill. When Bob finally did return, they learned he had spent the rest of the day going around town making amends.

1942: Local A.A. groups hosted the inaugural New York City area meeting, which attracted 424 attendees. The event featured speakers Rev. Vincent Donovan [near right], Dr. William D. Silkworth [middle right], and Willard S. Richardson [far right], Treasurer of the Alcoholic Foundation and an associate of John D. Rockefeller, Jr.

1967: T. Henry Williams [left] died and was buried at Crown Hill Cemetery and Mausoleum in Twinsburg, Ohio.
    From the early 1930s until 1939, he and his wife, Clarace, had hosted weekly Oxford Group meetings at their home [right]. Early members like Henrietta Seiberling, Dr. Bob, and Anne Smith attended these gatherings. Following Bill Wilson's arrival in 1935, new members of the emerging Alcoholics Anonymous group in Akron, Ohio, also joined as part of the Oxford Group's “alcoholic squadron.”

June 16 in A.A. History

1935: Day three of Dr. Bob S.’s three-day drying out period (detoxification) with Bill W.

1938: James “Jimmy” B. [right], author of “The Vicious Cycle” in the second, third, and fourth editions of Alcoholics Anonymous, had his last drink after a successful week selling car polish in New England, where two customers had taken him to lunch.

    I spent the next four days wandering around New England half drunk, by which I mean I couldn’t get drunk and I couldn’t get sober. I tried to contact the boys in New York [City], but telegrams bounced right back, and when I got Hank [P.] on the telephone he fired me right then. This was when I really took my first good look at myself.… My brilliant agnosticism vanished, and I saw for the first time that those who really believed, or at least honestly tried to find a Power greater than themselves, were much more composed and contented than I had ever been, and they seemed to have a degree of happiness I had never known.

    Humbled, Jimmy returned to New York City, where the group warmly welcomed him back. Bill Wilson’s reinterpretation of this part of Jimmy’s recovery is mythologized as the story of “Ed” on pages 143–145 of the chapter “Tradition 3” in Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions.

1940: The first Alcoholics Anonymous (A.A.) group in Baltimore, Maryland, was founded by James “Jimmy” B. and James “Jim” R. 
    Jim had gotten sober on 7 June 1933, over 18 months before Bill W. At the time, he was attempting, without success, to help two other alcoholics. Jimmy B. learned about Jim H. through the Alcoholic Foundation in New York City and contacted him. Jim was eager for the “A.A.” help that Jimmy described.
    The two men, along with three others, first met at Jim’s home at 2936 St. Paul Street [left]. Shortly after, Jimmy received a letter from a Baltimore lawyer in Philadelphia who sought help for his alcoholic brother. The lawyer offered his office in the Munsey Trust Building on Fayette Street [right, c. 1920s] as a meeting location. Just six days later, 22 on June, these same six men held Baltimore’s second A.A. meeting in the lawyer’s office.
    Over the past 86 years, the group, now known as the 857 Club (or Rebos Club) [left], has remained active despite several location changes. It currently hosts 14 meetings each week, including two hybrid (online and face-to-face) sessions, at 100 S. Haven Street in Baltimore’s Canton/Highlandtown neighborhood.

June in A.A. History—day unknown

1967: Rex A. wrote to the A.A. Grapevine, beginning his letter:

    The Australian branch of Alcoholics Anonymous came into being in October, 1944. Its founders (all nonalcoholics) were the Reverend Father T. V. Dunlea^* …, Dr. S. J. Minogue^†…, and Mr. A. V. Mc-Kinnon⁺
    Now, in June, 1946, we have a convalescent home at Sutherland, capable of housing 20 or 30 patients, who are in need of mental and physical rehabilitation, and have taken over a residential in Sydney where members live, pay rent and go to work; this place can accommodate 20 or so people and in it we have our meeting room, where we congregate twice weekly.…
    We estimate our membership at 150. It is too early to state how many have completely recovered, but probably no more than 12. Fifty-odd have shown very marked improvement, their relapses occurring less frequently as time goes on. The rest are just floundering around.

    The full message, perhaps edited, would be published in the October 1946 issue as “New Interest Created: Australian Branch Notes No. 1.”

---

^*Thomas “Tom” Dunlea, OBE
^†Sylvester John Minogue
⁺Archie V. McKinnon

June 15 in A.A. History

1921: Elizabeth Gwathwey [near right, 1916] and John FitzHugh “Fitz” M. [far right, 1914–18] marry in Norfolk, Virginia.

1935: Day two of Dr. Bob S.’s three-day drying out period (detoxification) with Bill W.

1938: In Lois Remembers, Lois W. would recall this date as the first time the term “Alcoholics Anonymous” was used.
  1945: Jeannie C. hosted the first A.A. meeting in Springfield, Missouri, at her home, 1950 S. Jefferson Ave. [left, 2016].
    During World War II, Jeannie temporarily resided at the Bellerive^* Hotel, [right, c. 1940] a prominent and historic apartment hotel at 214 East Armour Boulevard in Kansas City, Missouri. It was there that she first tried to stay sober. After several setbacks, she discovered Jack Alexander’s article in The Saturday Evening Post, “Alcoholics Anonymous: Freed Slaves of Drink, Now They Free Others.” She contacted the Alcoholic Foundation in New York City and was connected with A.A. members in St. Louis, but maintaining communication from Kansas City proved challenging. Almost by chance, chance, Jeannie later recounted, she saw a newspaper ad in Kansas City for individuals with a drinking problem. She wrote to the listed P.O. Box, which connected her to the Kansas City Number One group, where she ultimately found sobriety.
    After two years of sobriety, Jeannie returned to Springfield. She stayed sober for another two years by making frequent trips to Kansas City, despite gas rationing, and by corresponding with National Secretary Margaret “Bobbie” B. at the Alcoholic Foundation office in New York City. Encouraged by the Kansas City group, she wrote an editorial about A.A. for the local Springfield paper and secured a post office box. After compiling a dozen names, she organized Springfield’s first group meeting at her home on January 15.
    Later, Jeannie would be instrumental in establishing A.A. in Joplin, Missouri. After receiving a call from Jim S. asking how to start a group, Jeannie organized several carloads of members from Springfield and Kansas City to travel to Joplin.

---

^*The document “A Journey into Sobriety: A History of Alcoholics Anonymous [in] Springfield, Missouri” refers to a “Bellflower Hotel.” However, there is no evidence of a hotel by that name in Kansas City, suggesting it is likely a misspelling of the “Bellerive Hotel.”

1953: Dr. Earle M. [left], author of “Physician Heal Thyself” in the second, third, and fourth editions of Alcoholics Anonymous, had his last drink and drug. The following week, his friend, and fellow A.A. member, Harry H., took him to his first A.A. meeting: the Tuesday Night Mill Valley group. The meeting was held in Wesley Hall at the Methodist Church [right: probable structure, at Sycamore Ave. & E. Blithedale Ave., 2008] in Mill Valley, California. Only four other people attended: a butcher, a carpenter, a baker, and Harry, who was a mechanic and inventor. Earle loved A.A. from the start, and his devotion remained unwavering, even though he sometimes critiqued the program.

1969: In a letter to the International Conference of Young People in Alcoholics Anonymous (ICYPAA), Bill W. wrote:

    … in recent years I have found nothing for greater inspiration than the knowledge that A.A. of tomorrow will be safe, and certainly magnificent, in the keeping of you who are the younger generation of A.A. today.

June 14 in A.A. History

1935: In the morning, Dr. Bob S.’s nurse, Lily, picked him up at Akron, Ohio’s Union Depot [right, undated]. She drove him to her house and then called Bob’s wife, Anne. Anne and Bill W., who was staying with the S――s, then drove to Lily’s home, picked up Bob, and took him home. (This was five days after he had left Akron for the annual AMA Convention in Atlantic City, New Jersey.) At home, Bob began a three-day “drying out” period with Bill.

1939: Lois W. recorded in her diary that We stayed all night [June 13–14] with Hank [P.] trying to calm him down. But he was determined he was going to leave Kathleen and get a divorce. Got the children up early in the morning and he and Bill [her husband] drove them to the R――s [sic] in Hackettstown so they would be away from the fracas. It seemed to be the lesser evil cause at first he was asking to hide them out some place. Kathleen was of course awfully upset when she and Jean arrived to find the children gone.

1940: The Evening Star of Washington, D.C. published “Clergymen Discover the Efficacy of A.A. in Curing Drunks” [left], the second in a series of articles on Alcoholics Anonymous, “national brotherhood of recovered alcoholics.” It read, in part,

    Progress of Alcoholics Anonymous during the past 18 months, especially in many larger cities of the Nation, has attracted the interest of leaders in religion and medicine.
    They have studied closely this movement that originated in New York City five years ago. They have sought to determine how, in so many cases, the Double A’s [sic] have succeeded in straightening out drunks where other formulas have failed.

1943: In Detroit, Michigan, members proposed creating a separate Discussion Meeting to more effectively introduce newcomers to the Twelve Steps of the Recovery Program. They decided to hold a closed meeting, exclusively for alcoholics, for this purpose. The North-West Group held its first such Discussion Meeting on Monday night, 14 June 1943, at 10216 Plymouth Road [right: Plymouth Road forking to the west from Grand River Ave, 10216 was on the north side of Plymouth, ~½ mi [0.8 km] east of this intersection]. These meetings have continued every Monday night without exception since then^*. During that initial meeting, a plan was developed to present the Twelve Steps by dividing them into four categories, or phases, for easier study:
    (1) Admission,
    (2) Spiritual,
    (3) Restitution and Inventory, and
    (4) Working and Message.
    Each category was discussed in rotation on successive Monday nights. This method proved so successful that it was adopted by other groups, first in Detroit and then throughout the United States. Eventually, it was published in its entirety as “An Interpretation of the Twelve Steps” [left: cover], also known as “The Tablemate” by the A.A. groups of Washington, D.C.; in Detroit, the pamphlet was sometimes called the “Table Leaders Guide.” The Preface read, in part:

    The following pages contain the basic material for the discussion meetings for alcoholics only.
    These meetings are held for the purpose of acquainting both old and new members with the 12 steps on which our program is based.
     So that all twelve steps may be covered in a minimum of time they are divided into four classifications and one evening each week will be devoted to each of the four subdivisions. Thus, in one month, a new man can get the basis of our 12 suggested steps.
    [The Twelve Steps are listed.]    
    These steps are divided as follows:
    Discussion No. 1—The admission, Step No. 1.
    Discussion No. 2—The spiritual phase, Steps 2, 3, 5, 6, 7 and 11.
    Discussion No. 3—The inventory and restitution, Steps No. 4, 8, 9 and 10.
    Discussion No. 4—The active work, which is Step No. 12.

---

^*“Without exception since then”—at least up until the time that Area 33 Archivist Cliff M. wrote this statement in a short undated document titled “Alcoholics Anonymous History In Your Area: Michigan, © 1999–2006 Alcoholics Anonymous General Services of Southeast Michigan.”

1946: The March of Time newsreel service released “Problem Drinkers” [right: screen capture], a documentary on alcoholism that prominently featured Alcoholics Anonymous. These shorts were widely distributed and often shown in movie theaters before the main attraction.

1954: In a letter to Bernard Smith, Chair of the Alcoholic Foundation/General Service Board, Bill W. shared his thoughts on the upcoming second edition of Alcoholics Anonymous, slated for publication in 1955. His comments included the following:

    The story section of the Big Book is far more important than most of us think. It is our principal means of identifying with the reader outside of A.A.; it is the written equivalent of hearing speakers at an AA meeting; it is our show window of results. To increase the power and variety of this display to the utmost should be, therefore, no routine or hurried job.
    The best will be none too good. The difference between “good” and “excellent” can be the difference between prolonged misery and recovery, between life and death, for the reader outside A. A.
    The main purpose of the revision is to bring the story section up-to-date, to portray more adequately a cross-section of those who have found help. The audience for the book is people who are coming to Alcoholics Anonymous now. Those who are here have already heard our stories. Since the audience for the book is likely to be newcomers, anything from the point of view of content or style that might offend or alienate those who are not familiar with the program should be carefully eliminated.

    Bill also outlined several “Basic Editorial Approaches” that remain relevant today, more than 70 years later. These included:

1. The desire to reproduce realistic stories should not be overemphasized to the extent of producing an unrealistic book.… There should be no shrinking from the job of editing ruthlessly if such editing will preserve the story, without the realism.
2. Profanity, even when mild, rarely contributes as much as it detracts. It should be avoided.
3. All minor geographic references should be avoided.
4. The stories should be organized coherently, either in terms of chronology or of the specific points the individual is trying to make.
5. “Selling” or other “gimmicks”—editorial and other wise—should be avoided. The story section is not a popular magazine. The appearance and approach should be straightforward, without frills.
6. Humor should stem from the character of the storyteller and of the situations he describes, not be the result of gags.
7. The end results of editing should be that the stories will be suitable for reading aloud—at closed meetings, etc.—without embarrassment.

Today in A.A. History—June 14–15

1947: The Twelfth Anniversary Celebration of Alcoholics Anonymous, commemorating its founding in 1935, took place at the Masonic Auditorium [left, 1940s] at 3615 Euclid Ave. in Cleveland, Ohio, a notable architectural landmark. The program on Saturday, the 14th, included a reception for visitors in the Saints and Sinners room of the Hotel Carter, a tea for ladies, and an Open House at two different locations. On Sunday, the 15th, a banquet accommodated about 1,000 attendees, with tickets priced at $3.00 each (including tax and gratuity [~$43 in 2025]). The weekend also included an organ recital and a mass meeting hosted by Dr. Bob S. Featured speakers at the event included Bill D. (A.A. number #3), Dick S. (author of “The Car Smasher,” revised and retitled “He Had to be Shown” in the 2nd and 3rd editions of Alcoholics Anonymous), who was then based in New York City, and Paul Stanley (author of “Truth Freed Me!” in the 1st edition of Alcoholics Anonymous), who was Dick’s brother.

June 13 in A.A. History

1935: Dr. Bob Smith’s blackout, which had begun the previous day in Atlantic City, New Jersey, continued. He may also have arrived at Akron, Ohio’s Union Depot [right: West of S. College St, South of W. Market St.] on this date.

1936: Dr. Frederick B., Bill W.’s first “prospect” and Chair of the Brooklyn College Building Committee, replied to Mr. Fletcher Cooper of the New York World Telegram regarding an information request for their New World Almanac. Dr. B.’s reply [left: cover letter] was a two-page description of the new college, detailing its history, organization, and the first five buildings, then under construction [near right: sketch of new campus (c. 1935); far right: library nearing completion (1936)]. The buildings—financed by a $5.5 million [~$132 million in 2026] loan and grant from the Federal Emergency Administration of the Public Works Administration—were being built to accommodate the college’s 10,000 students, 5,500 of whom attended the Day Session, and 4,500 the Evening Session.

1939: On their arrival at Hank and Kathleen P.s’, Bill and Lois W. [far left] found Hank [center left] in a very bad mood. Lois recorded in her diary that she and Kathleen [near left] had attended a meeting in Bert T.’s apartment on 72nd Street in New York City. She noted that Kathleen had “stayed in town to go to a broadcast with some of the gang and [would] ride back later with Morgan R. But it rained so hard that she and Jean and Tyler M. and Margaret spent the night in Bert’s apartment.” She added that they had “found Hank in a murderous mood because Kathleen had just phoned him [to say] that she was staying at Bert’s apartment.”

June in A.A. History—day unknown

1946:  The Oklahoma City Group of Alcoholics Anonymous (A.A.) held the first meeting in its new brick building, the Kelley Club, located at 2300 N. Kelly Ave. [right: 2011]. The group, which had grown to 200 members since its founding in September 1941, built the facility for themselves. It featured a 400-seat auditorium, a dining room, a kitchen, and various amenities. The land had been donated by a resident whose son A.A. had helped.

1946: Twenty-three existing groups in the New York City metropolitan area united to form the New York Inter-Group [left: logo]. This new organization replaced the New York City Central Committee, which had operated out of the A.A. Clubhouse at 334½ W. 24th St. The founding groups represented the following counties: Bronx, New York (Manhattan), Richmond (Staten Island), Kings (Brooklyn), Suffolk (western Long Island), and Westchester (encompassing the cities of Mount Vernon, New Rochelle, Peekskill, Rye, White Plains, and Yonkers).

1946:The A.A. Grapevine published an announcement [right] regarding The March of Time documentary film “Problem Drinkers.”

    Release date for The March of Time documentary film on alcoholism has been announced as June 14.
    The picture includes scenes taken at the A.A. Central Office in Manhattan; the NCEA (Nat’l Committee for Education on Alcoholism); New York’s Knickerbocker Hospital; the Yale School for Alcohol Studies; and at the clubrooms of one A.A. group--chosen by The March of Time people because it seemed typical.
    A.A.s anonymity has been respected throughout. No A.A.s face is shown in the film. The faces distinguishable in the shots taken at the Central Office are those of non-alcoholics. And those seen at the group’s clubrooms are actors’.
    The one exception is Marty M., who emerged from her anonymity when called upon to become executive director of NCEA.

June 12 in A.A. History

1931: Rowland Hazard [right] departed on a three-month family trip to Europe. According to the Hazard Family Papers in the Manuscripts Division of the Rhode Island Historical Society, he was in France on July 9, Italy on July 20, and apparently left for England on August 13. There is no evidence to suggest that Hazard visited Switzerland during this trip, making it highly unlikely that he saw Dr. Carl Jung, despite suggestions to the contrary.

1935: Dr. Bob S., who had checked out of his Atlantic City, New Jersey hotel the previous night, entered a drunken blackout that would likely last two or three days.

1941: Ruth Hock [far left] wrote to Henry S., a printer and member of A.A. in Washington, D.C., to inquire about the cost of printing the Serenity Prayer as a wallet card. She had received a clipping [right] of the prayer from Jack C. [near left, c. 1938], a newspaperman and A.A. member. Jack had found the prayer in the “In Memoriam”  section of the 28 May 1941 edition of the New York Herald Tribune. The prayer read:

    Mother—God grant me the serenity to accept things I cannot change, courage to change things I can, and wisdom to know the difference. Goodby.

    Ruth initially wanted to keep the clipping to include copies in outgoing mail. However, Horace C. had suggested printing the prayer as a card and paid for the initial printing. In response to Ruth’s request, Henry S. printed 500 cards [right: a vintage, undated such card] at his own expense and sent them to her, offering to provide more at no cost.

June in A.A. History—day unknown

1945: Nancy Flynn, the author of “The Independent Blonde” in the second edition of Alcoholics Anonymous, got sober in New York City at 39. Her mother had died when she was three, and her father remarried when she was fourteen. Soon after, her stepmother kicked her out.

    When you’re thrown out, you don’t feel like you’re anything. You know something’s got to be wrong with you or they wouldn’t have thrown you out. And they tell me that, psychologically, I felt abandoned by my mother.

    She had attempted several “geographic” cures, but none were effective. Fearing job loss, she preemptively quit multiple jobs rather than waiting to be fired. Her introduction to A.A. began at the New York City clubhouse on 9th Avenue and 41st Street. Expecting to find a group of down-and-out bums, she dressed casually to avoid appearing superior. To her surprise, she encountered people who resembled “Park Avenue types.” She was particularly impressed to meet a countess (Felicia Gizycka, author of “Stars Don’t Fall” in the 2nd and 3rd editions of Alcoholics Anonymous). Nancy noted that during that period, everyone in A.A. knew each other because they all frequented the same clubhouse. She later remarked,

    And I was so welcome. It was the first time I felt welcome.

    When Nancy first arrived, she was an atheist and wanted nothing to do with the topic of God. However, she eventually began to explore her beliefs, became a Quaker, and took on the role of teaching English to migrant workers. Once sober, she attended high school in her 50s and went to college in her 70s. There, she studied for nine and a half years, graduating cum laude with a degree in behavioral science. Nancy owned a small beauty shop where she often gave permanents to members of Alcoholics Anonymous, regardless of their ability to pay.
    Nancy and another young woman, possibly Marty Mann, were frequently invited to visit hospitals and “drying-out” facilities that catered to the wealthy, as they were both young and “presentable.” (Later, when Marty was involved with the National Council on Alcoholism, she wanted to hire Nancy as a speaker, but Nancy declined.) During these visits, they would wear little black dresses, pearls, and charming hats adorned with flowers. On one occasion, they went to the apartment of a famous actress, who captivated them with such wonderful stories that they completely forgot the purpose of their visit. Years later, Nancy reflected on this experience.

    We didn’t have the nerve to tell her that she was a drunk. Later she did get sober.

Initially, she disliked working with families.

    I was mad at the families. I wouldn’t talk to anybody but the alcoholic. I was so eager to give what I had, I went right from the First Step to the last Step. For me it was just wonderful. I got in with people and I cared for somebody. You see, I had never cared for anybody, not even myself. When you care for somebody, you begin to heal yourself. You don’t even know it.

    She frequently sought Dr. Silkworth’s advice.

    If we were in trouble, we’d go to Dr. Silkworth. If we were in a situation and we didn’t know how to get out of it or were afraid we might get drunk, we could talk it over with him. He was a very simple, wonderful man. He said to me once, “The day that you can sit down and just be honest with yourself in this situation, you will know what to do.” That was the kind of a man he was.

    Every day, Nancy visited the clubhouse from its 11:00 AM opening until it closed at night; it was the only place where she felt safe. For the first five years, she did nothing but attend A.A. meetings because she didn’t know what else to do. For the next fifteen years, she also participated in a women’s meeting, founded by Marty Mann, held on 58th Street in midtown Manhattan, in the home of a woman whose husband was an alcoholic.

June 11 in A.A. History

1935: On the first day of the annual American Medical Association Convention in Convention Hall [left, on its opening day in 1929], aka Convention Center or Boardwalk Hall, in Atlantic City, New Jersey, Dr. Bob S. started drinking in the morning. He likely checked out of his hotel later that day, beginning a binge that could well have lasted for three days.

1938: After what he described as “a very good week” selling car polish in New England, Jim B. [right] was taken out to lunch by two of his customers. He had been sober for just over five months, so when they each ordered a round of beers, he refrained from drinking, leaving both glasses untouched. In his story, “The Vicious Cycle” (in the second, third and fourth editions of Alcoholics Anonymous), he says:

    Then it was my turn—I ordered, “Three beers,” but this time it was different; I had a cash investment of thirty cents [~$6.80 in 2025], and, on a ten-dollar-a-week salary [~$227 in 2025], that’s big thing. So I drank all three beers, one after the other, and said, “I’ll be seeing you, boys,” and went around the corner for a bottle. I never saw either of them again.

    The story of “Ed” on pages 143-45 of Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions is Bill W.’s inaccurate recounting of this part of Jim’s story.

1947: Works Publishing, Inc. published the 11th printing of the first edition of the Big Book, Alcoholics Anonymous [left: copyright page]. In this printing, the term ex-alcoholic was replaced throughout with either ex-problem drinker or non-drinker.

1969: Bonna Lee G. [near right], the 23-year-old granddaughter of Anne and Dr. Bob S., shot and killed her six-year-old daughter, Sandy [far right]—Dr. Bob’s great-granddaughter—before killing herself. Bonna was the daughter of Sue S. G. W. and Ernie G. (A.A. #4), whose story, “The Seven Month Slip,” appears in the first edition of Alcoholics Anonymous. Sue and Ernie had divorced four years prior, and Sue believed Bonna was an alcoholic and abused diet pills.

1971: Ernest “Ernie” G. [left], referred to in the Big Book (p. 159) as “the devil-may-care chap,” died at 66. Sue wrote, “Ernie never got over [Bonna’s death], and he died two years later to the day…”

2016: The Anchorage Dry Dock Club [right], officially incorporated as The Dry Dock of Anchorage, Inc., was established in March 1982 by Alcoholics Anonymous members in Alaska. Its original purpose was “to create a permanent meeting place for meetings of Alcoholics Anonymous available to recovering alcoholics in the South Anchorage area.” Today,

    … the Anchorage Dry Dock operates a social club where recovering alcoholics and addict [sic], their families and friends can spend leisure hours in an alcohol and drug free environment. The Anchorage Dry Dock provides space where groups of Alcoholic Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous, Al-Anon, Pills Anonymous or any other recovery group can hold meetings.

June in A.A. History—day unknown

1945: The A.A. Grapevine announced that Bill W. would serve as a senior editorial advisor and, presumably, continue to contribute articles.

June 10 in A.A. History

1935: This generally accepted date for Dr. Bob S.’s last drink marks the official founding of Alcoholics Anonymous [right: co-founders Bill W. and Dr. Bob S. with circle and triangle]. Most historians, however, believe the founders incorrectly reconstructed the 
date, and that Dr. Bob’s last drink actually occurred on June 17.
    On June 10, Dr. Bob actually spent most of the day traveling to the annual American Medical Association Convention in Atlantic City, New Jersey. He began drinking on the train that morning and likely checked into his hotel later that day [left: Chalfont-Haddon Hall, a possible good choice for Dr. Bob with modestly priced rooms, at ~$2–3 a night (~$49–73 in 2026)].
    As to the historicity of Dr. Bob’s dry date, for example, William “Barefoot Bill” L. [left] confirmed through the American Medical Association (AMA) Archives in Chicago, Illinois, that the 1935 AMA Convention in Atlantic City, New Jersey, was held from Monday to Friday, on 10–14 June 1935.

      Another historian who investigated this is Arthur S. [right], who in his Narrative Timeline of A.A. History, says,

ACOA [Alcoholics Anonymous Comes Of Age on p.] 147, DBGO [Doctor Bob and the Good Oldtimers on p.] 72 and PIO [Pass It On on p.] 147 all erroneously state that the AMA meeting began the first week of June 1935. The AMA Archives has confirmed that it began in the second week on Monday June 10 [1935]. Allowing for 3-plus days of binging and blacking out in NJ [New Jersey] followed by three days of sobering up in Akron, Dr Bob’s sober date appears to be June 17 not June 10.
There are clues in AA literature for a reasonable deduction.…

Estimate of timeline based on the preceding [list of clues]:

June	Dr Bob
09 Sunday	Started drinking on the train on the way to Atlantic City, NJ. Bought several quarts and checked into an Atlantic City hotel
10 Monday	Stayed sober until after dinner
11 Tuesday	Started drinking in the morning - later checked out of the hotel.
12 Wednesday	In a blackout (likely greater than 24 hours)
13 Thursday	Blackout continues (may have arrived at Akron train station)
14 Friday	Picked up by his nurse in the morning at the train station. Then picked up by Bill W at the nurse’s house (5 days after leaving). Day 1 of a 3-day drying out period with Bill
15 Saturday	Day 2 of a 3-day drying out period with Bill
16 Sunday	Day 3 of a 3-day drying out period with Bill
17 Monday	Day of the surgery - Bill gives Bob a beer and a goofball

    An alternative theory speculates that Dr. Bob attended specialty meetings (e.g., for proctologists) before the convention, during which he started drinking. This would have prevented him from attending the main event and led him to go home early.