January 4 in A.A. History

In 1939, Bill W. [far left, late 1930s] wrote to Frank Amos [near left] that the One Hundred Men book was nearly finished, but that more editing might be needed. He mentioned that a copy had been given to Tom Uzzell [right] for this work and that “one more consultation with the boys in Akron will be necessary.”

In 1939 [5th? 10th?], Dr. Bob S. [left] wrote to Ruth Hock [right] that the Akron alcoholics needed “to get away from the Oxford Group atmosphere.” However, it wouldn’t be until December that “alcoholic squad” left the Oxford Group and began holding their own A.A. meetings.

In 1940, Sarah Klein [right], 53, daughter of a proud, privileged New York family and the non-alcoholic wife of an alcoholic, met alcoholic Archie Trowbridge  [left] in his dingy third-floor walk-up on Kirby St. between Cass Ave. and 2nd St. in Detroit, Michigan. They would form the first Alcoholic Anonymous. group there, meeting weekly and seeking prospects.
    In April the year before, Sarah had received and read an early copy of the Big Book, Alcoholics Anonymous. Impressed, she wrote to the Alcoholic Foundation in New York City, inquiring how they intended to implement the ideas in the book. The Foundation responded that an unnamed member (Archie), who was sobering up in Akron, would be returning home to Detroit in mid-summer. They also sent a letter to Archie, who was recovering at Clarence S.’s home in Cleveland, Ohio, informing him of the request from Detroit. He assumed that “S. Klein” was not only an alcoholic but also a man.

In 1941, Bill and Lois W. had been invited to spend the weekend with their Alcoholics Anonymous friends, Ruth and Wilbur S., in Chappaqua, New York. Their hosts picked them up at the local train station, but Bill noticed they had passed through Chappaqua and were approaching Bedford Hills. Ruth mentioned she had a surprise for them: she and Wilbur wanted to show them a house they believed would be perfect for the still-homeless couple. The house belonged to a widow friend of Ruth’s, who admired A.A. greatly after seeing it help one of her friends.
    They discovered a charming, unoccupied country house on two acres atop a hill. Bill found an unlocked window, climbed in, and pulled Lois in behind him. They stood in front of a fieldstone fireplace in a large wood-paneled living room. The house had six more rooms: three bedrooms and a kitchen downstairs, as well as a long library with bookshelves and another bedroom upstairs. Despite their initial misgivings, they fell in love with the place and would buy it that spring [right: Bill and Lois in front of Stepping Stones, earliest known image, c. 1941].

In 1941, Jack Alexander wrote to Bill W., enclosing a manuscript of his article, “Alcoholics Anonymous: Freed Slaves of Drink, Now They Free Others,” which was to be published in the 1 March 1941 issue of The Saturday Evening Post.

In 1946, the first Alcoholics Anonymous group in Suffolk County, New York, held its initial meeting in Huntington.

In 1950, the Johnson City (Tennessee) Press briefly reported [left] on a recently aired documentary “presented by” Alcoholics Anonymous.

In 2023, the newly translated Mongolian service manual was approved by the General Service Office of Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc.