February 11 in A.A. History

1937: Frank Amos [right] arrived in Akron, Ohio, to evaluate the “Alcoholic Squad” of the Oxford Group as a potential recipient of a Rockefeller charitable contribution. He may have stayed with Dr. Bob and Anne S. or at a hotel.

1938: Clarence S. [left] took his last drink.
    He had been working as a traveling salesman based out of Cleveland. However, his drinking had escalated to the point where it disrupted his travels and business prospects. It had also driven a wedge between him and his wife, Dorothy  [right], who had thrown him out almost a year ago. When he finally returned home, she refused to let him in. He pleaded with her. He was very cold and desperate for a drink. Although she insisted she didn’t need him, she offered him a chance for redemption.
    Dorothy’s sister, Virginia, lived in New York City. After a house call from her family doctor for her sick children, she had started a conversation with him. This doctor was Dr. Leonard Strong  [left], who was also Bill W.’s brother-in-law. When Virginia confided in Dr. Strong about her brother-in-law’s struggles, he shared the story of Bill  [near right], who lived in Brooklyn, and Dr. Bob S. [far right], who lived in Akron, Ohio. He explained how they had remained sober for three years through the Oxford Group and were now helping other alcoholics to stop drinking. Virginia had written to Dorothy about this conversation, providing her with the name and address of Dr. Bob, hoping it might help if Clarence ever showed up again.
    Now that Clarence had returned, she asked if he was ready to stop drinking. He agreed. She told him about the doctor in Akron who “fixes drunks” and insisted he must first undergo Dr. Bob’s “cure.” He consented. She drove him to the bus depot, bought a one-way ticket to Akron, and gave him a sandwich along with a scrap of paper that read:

Dr. Robert Holbrook S――, 810 Second National Building, Akron, Ohio. Office phone: HEmlock 8523, Residence phone: UNiversity 2436. Hours 2 to 4 PM.

To ensure he wouldn’t sell his ticket for alcohol, she helped him board the bus and followed it for a few blocks to make sure he didn’t persuade the driver to let him off.
    Clarence’s story in the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous is titled “Home Brewmeister” (1st, 2nd, and 3rd editions).

1939: Hank P. [near left] had telegraphed Fitz M. [far left], asking him to find out how many books in the Library of Congress—located not far from his home in Maryland—were titled The Way Out or Alcoholics Anonymous. Fitz responded by wiring back to Hank at Bill W.’s home address:

1939 Feb 11 AM 12 19
WA 13 50 NL=CA WASHINGTON DC 10
HENRY G P▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓
182 CLINTON ST BROOKLYN NY=
NO TITLE CAN BE REGISTERED IN COPYRIGHT OFFICE TO SECURE MONOPOLY OF ITS USE STOP LIBRARY OF CONGRESS HAS 25 BOOKS THE WAY OUT 12 THE WAY NINE THIS WAY OUT NONE ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS NONE COMES DAWN MY PET STOP OUR TRIP TO BROOKLYN DEFINITELY OFF-BUSINESS BRISKER AM WRITING.=
FITZ

    Bill and Hank immediately declared the title to be Alcoholics Anonymous or, as Bill later admitted, “we left the title ‘Alcoholics Anonymous’ in the copy that went to the printer [less than a week later]” (i.e., they had already put their preferred title on the master copy). In later retellings, Bill would incorrectly state that the number of books already titled The Way Out was 12, not 25, which allowed him to argue that it would have been bad luck to produce the 13th book with that title.

1940: Margaret D. from Seattle, Washington, wrote to the Alcoholic Foundation regarding her husband. The Foundation would respond by mail on March 6. Margaret would eventually play a role in organizing Seattle's first A.A. group on April 19 [right: New Washington Hotel, site of first A.A. meeting in Seattle, Washington (c. 1908)], although the specifics of her involvement remain unclear.