1939: Armed with the fully annotated multilith copy of the Big
Book—complete with corrections—Hank P.
[near right] drove Bill W. [middle
right, 1937] and Ruth Hock [far right]
60 miles [97 km]
north to Cornwall, New York, where Cornwall Press
[left, early 1900s]
was to print the book. Although the manager initially insisted on a clean,
typed copy, Hank persuaded him to accept the marked-up manuscript. He
promised that they would correct the galley proofs as they came off the
press. In hindsight, Ruth explained that they all went because “we couldn’t
afford anyone to correct the pages as they came off [the press, and] edit
them….” Moreover, only these three could have handled the task.
Bill recalled that Dorothy Wright S.
[right], Clarence’s wife, joined them on this trip, but Ruth
clarified that Dorothy was in town from Cleveland, Ohio, visiting her
sister, and when she had called Bill, he had invited her to meet them in
Cornwall, which she did. The four of them spent the day correcting
proofs, shared dinner, and then retired to three hotel rooms
[left: the Cornwall Inn, where they stayed].
Ruth and Dorothy “immediately developed a perfect rapport,” which was fortunate since they shared the third room, which contained a large double bed. They “were talking, and talking, and talking” until about 1:30 or 2:00 in the morning when they heard a knock on their door. It was Bill, who couldn’t sleep. The three of them spent the rest of the night talking, with Bill sitting on the bed between the two women. It was entirely innocent, and Ruth later wrote to Bill that it was “one of the most satisfying and joyous memories of my life…. How wicked that sounds, but how innocent and wonderful it really was.” Bill agreed, calling it “one of my precious moments.”
1943: According to the Charleston Daily Mail, Bill W. spoke at St. John’s Parish House. This meeting, established by Irwin “Irv” M., may have been the first Alcoholics Anonymous meeting in West Virginia.
[left, early 1900s]
was to print the book. Although the manager initially insisted on a clean,
typed copy, Hank persuaded him to accept the marked-up manuscript. He
promised that they would correct the galley proofs as they came off the
press. In hindsight, Ruth explained that they all went because “we couldn’t
afford anyone to correct the pages as they came off [the press, and] edit
them….” Moreover, only these three could have handled the task.Bill recalled that Dorothy Wright S.
[right], Clarence’s wife, joined them on this trip, but Ruth
clarified that Dorothy was in town from Cleveland, Ohio, visiting her
sister, and when she had called Bill, he had invited her to meet them in
Cornwall, which she did. The four of them spent the day correcting
proofs, shared dinner, and then retired to three hotel rooms
[left: the Cornwall Inn, where they stayed]. Ruth and Dorothy “immediately developed a perfect rapport,” which was fortunate since they shared the third room, which contained a large double bed. They “were talking, and talking, and talking” until about 1:30 or 2:00 in the morning when they heard a knock on their door. It was Bill, who couldn’t sleep. The three of them spent the rest of the night talking, with Bill sitting on the bed between the two women. It was entirely innocent, and Ruth later wrote to Bill that it was “one of the most satisfying and joyous memories of my life…. How wicked that sounds, but how innocent and wonderful it really was.” Bill agreed, calling it “one of my precious moments.”
1943: According to the Charleston Daily Mail, Bill W. spoke at St. John’s Parish House. This meeting, established by Irwin “Irv” M., may have been the first Alcoholics Anonymous meeting in West Virginia.
Note 1: St. John's Parish House may be associated with St. John's
Episcopal Church [right, c. 1901], located at 1105 Quarrier St. in
Charleston. The church was built in 1884, and the Parish House was designed
as an expansion in 1927, with construction beginning in 1928.
Note 2: “Rule 62” originated with one of Charleston’s A.A.
groups.
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