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.