April 24 in A.A. History

In 1989, Dr. Leonard V. Strong, Jr [right], 90, died of pneumonia at McKerley Health Care Center in Rutland, Vermont. He was the brother-in-law of Bill W., married to his sister Dorothy, and served as a Class A [non-alcoholic] Trustee of the General Service Board of Alcoholics Anonymous.

April 24–28

In 1963, at the 13th General Service Conference, held at the Hotel Roosevelt in New York City, the following were among the advisory actions:

• That in an Area where Delegates have been chosen by two A.A. service entities, the Area's representation in the Conference… be deferred until the Area… is able to select a single Delegate^*.
• Approved the admission to the Conference… of a second Delegate from the Province of Quebec… [to serve] French-speaking group in the Province.
• Viewed “with favor” possible increased participation by overseas A.A. units in General Service Conferences and recommended that a study of factors be made by G.S.O.
• [Denied] the request that a representative of the Young People in A.A. be permitted to attend the General Service Conference as an Observer.
• “Partners,” when revised be retitled [sic] “The Group Handbook” with subtitle, “How the A.A. Group Starts and Grows.”
• Recommends a joint meeting of the G[eneral] S[ervice] B[oard] and Conference Finance Committee be held in October or November. Also that this be extended to other Committees as deemed necessary.
• [Established a number of committees to plan the 1965 International Convention.]
• An amount in excess of $6,500 has been collected in Canada for the Guarantee Fund;… the General Service Board [put aside] $6,500 from the General Fund… representing… [their] share…  of the 1965 Convention Guarantee Fund [to cover any losses resulting from that Convention.

    Bill Wilson spoke about group conscience in his talk titled “A.A. Takes Its Inventory”:

    I think that we have developed almost a fetish that there is some terrific infallibility in the group conscience, and I would like to modify it to this extent: that when the group conscience is thoroughly informed, and when experience backs a decision or conclusion it has reached, and when it isn't too mad or too fearful, it can be (and almost always is) supremely wise as to the best interest of Alcoholics Anonymous.

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^* The Chicago Area (19) had two such Delegates. Both were invited to meet with the Conference Admissions Committee at their own expense.

April 24–29

In 1973, at the 23rd General Service Conference, held at the Hotel Commodore in New York City, the following were among the advisory actions, all unanimous:

• That Conference Committee Secretaries… serve in an advisory capacity only, and… not… vote.
• In declining to approve the [Agenda/Admissions] committee recommendation, the Conference voted that Quebec be allowed a fourth delegate.
• [Denied a recommendation] that the Agenda/Admissions Committee participate, as a committee, in the final approval of suggested agenda items and their distribution to the various committees, etc., and no longer be restricted to ust “making recommendations.”
• The Unity declaration be added to all A.A. literature when feasible and economical…
• Any A.A. member's evaluating another A.A. member is totally in opposition to our Traditions.
• That the money in the Bill Wilson Memorial Fund be transferred to the General Fund as expeditiously as possible.

April 24–30

In 2022, at the 72nd General Service Conference, held at the Omni Park Central Hotel in New York City, COVID wreaked its havoc, although this was the first face-to-face Conference in since 2019. Two sitting Area delegates were replaced by alternates at almost the last minute. Some G.S.O. employees who had been working on Conference preparations had to go into quarantine after contracting the virus. After the Conference started, Conference members, more G.S.O. employees, and Conference guests began to get sick. As the Final Report put it:

    At least 25 people [were] infected by the end of the week and closer to 50 in the days following the Conference. With no no established protocols or plans in place to address the expanding infection rate, a series of ad hoc procedures were adopted to keep Conference members in the loop of the Conference itself. Recognizing Concept IV and the need to develop a means of communication for those Conference members quarantined in the hotel or who had chosen to leave the Conference over Covid concerns, an audio link was established to provide access to the deliberations of theConference, though the full participation of these Conference members fordiscussion, voting and minority opinion was not possible.
     Further complicating matters… the hotel had no room service capabilities.…
     Another issue…, especially as brought to the fore by the pandemic, [was] the growth, importance and representation of online groups and meetings.

The following were among the advisory actions:

• [That] the… Board develop a… report on the progress and outcomes from the 2013–2015 Conference inventory and include a draft plan for another Conference inventory… to be brought back to he 2023 Conference Committee on Agenda.
• [A]ll Conference… background be made available simultaneously in English, French and Spanish.
• Chapters [8–12] of The A.A. Service Manual be revised to correct inaccuracies and to provide clarity and consistency.

April 23 in A.A. History

In 1940, Dr. Bob S. wrote to the trustees of the Alcoholic Foundation to decline royalties from sales of Alcoholics Anonymous. However, Bill W. insisted that both Bob and Anne receive royalties in recognition of their leadership. Hank P., the only other significant author of the non-story portions besides Bill, had been “squeezed out” after he began drinking, which no doubt contributed to his growing resentment toward Bill.

In 1947,The New York Times published a letter [right] from Leonard V. Harrison, as Director of New York City’s Bureau of Public Affairs; at the time, he was also serving as Chairman of the Alcoholic Foundation Board of Trustees.

In 1963, Bill W. wrote to Sam Shoemaker [left]:

You must remember, Sam, that you were the personification here in New York of all the best that went on in Calvary and in the O.G. [Oxford Group] of A.A.’s early days. Your impact on me, and upon some of our other people, was simply immense.… It is also entirely true that the substance of A.A.’s Twelve Steps was derived from the O.G.’s [Oxford Group’s] emphasis on the essentials and your unforgettable presentation of this material time after time.…
    The Twelve Steps of A.A. simply represented an attempt to state in more detail, breadth, and depth, what we had been taught—primarily by you. Without this, there could have been nothing—nothing at all.
    Certainly there were other indispensable contributions without which we should have probably gotten no place. But none of these were so large or so critical as your own. Though I wish the ‘cofounder [sic]’ tag had never been hitched to any of us. I have no hesitancy in adding your name to the list!

In 2018, The A.A. Grapevine, Inc. launched a YouTube channel [right] with three videos: “Doors,” “At the Printer,” and “Printer Cutter.”

April 23–26

In 1953, at the 3rd Annual General Service Conference, held at the Hotel Roosevelt in New York City, the Board of Trustees reported that “the name of Works Publishing, Inc. has been changed to ‘Alcoholics Anonymous Publishing, Inc.’”
    The following were some of the advisory actions:

• That Alcoholics Anonymous… not [seek to] incorporate [by Act of Congress].
• [Develop] a new pamphlet for young alcoholics, including a few personal… stories.
• No policy should be declared or action taken on matters liable to gravely affect A.A. as a whole unless by consent of at least three-quarters of the members present.
• That the Board of Trustees… choose the area from which a Trustee [comes] and… the qualifications the prospective Trustee should possess. This Conference… expresses its complete confidence in, and appreciation of, the ability of the Board to act in this matter.
• That the Board of Trustees be authorized to provide part-time compensation for the President of… Alcoholics Anonymous Publishing, Inc. or in any other situations, as needed.
• Changing the name of The Alcoholic Foundation to a new designation using “Alcoholics Anonymous” coupled with a suitable word, that word not to be “international.”

April 23–27

In 1952, at the 2nd General Service Conference, held at the Hotel Commodore in New York City, the following were among the advisory actions, all unanimous:

• That Conference Committee Secretaries… serve in an advisory capacity only, and… not… vote.
• Reaffirm the stand taken by the 1951 Conference as follows: “This conference has no desire to review, edit, or censor non-Foundation material. Our object is to provide, in the future, a means of distinguishing Foundation literature from that issued locally or by non-A.A. interests.”
• The pamphlet “Sedatives” be given first priority in issuance of revisions of existing pamphlets.

In 1958, the 8th General Service Conference of Alcoholics Anonymous was held at the Prince George Hotel in New York City. Area Delegates included one from Alaska and one from Puerto Rico.
     Two advisory actions of interest were:

• That Area 9 (Mid-Southern California) be recognized.
• That A.A.…

    recognize the original use of the word ‘honest’ before ‘desire to stop drinking’ and its deletion from the Traditions as part of the evolution of the A.A. movement. Any change to be left to the discretion of A.A. Publishing, Inc.

    This was with regard to a proposal to…

    change the wording of the so-called “Grapevine description” of the movement [i.e., the Preamble] so that this conforms with the third Tradition in omitting the word “honest.”

    That summer, the Board voted to remove “honest” from the Preamble.

In 1990, at the 40th General Service Conference, held at the Omni Park Central Hotel in New York City, the following were among the advisory actions:

• The A.A. History book project continue… the time frame covered be expanded to include 1955 [on].
• The manuscript of the daily reflections book be approved with the following specific changes… pamphlet for young alcoholics, including a few personal… stories.
• The proposal for a pamphlet on the spiritual aspects of A.A. not be approved.
• [That] a standing committee for central and intergroup offices not be formed…
• [Revise] the Twelve Concepts section in The A.A. Service Manual,… the short form of Concepts as the “Table of Contents,” followed by the long form and introduction.
• [That] items discussed, but no action taken or recommendation made,… committee recommendations which are not adopted, be included in a separate section in the Conference Final Report.
• [Denied] a request from ICYPAA that a member of their advisory council be allowed to attend the General Service Conference as an observer.
• [Denied a Delegate request] that the resumes of nominees for… trustee[s] be sent to all delegates.

April 23–29

In 1989, at the 39th Annual General Service Conference, held at the Omni Park Central Hotel in New York City, the following were among the advisory actions:

• [To not] send complete audited financial statements to each delegate as soon as they are available has not been demonstrated, but that they will be made available upon request (available about April 1st, each year).
• That] the Grapevine develop an ongoing A.A. history section,… including area and regional histories.
• [That] work continue on a … book on A.A. History from 1955, [that] focuses on major events and developments [since then] rather than focusing on the beginning of A.A. and the history of the 91 areas…
• … “The A.A. Group” be thoroughly revised to address the many issues and concerns related to A.A. groups which come before the committee year after year such as: the difference between a group and a meeting; meeting formats; how to obtain a group conscience; the duties of trusted servants and their alternates; and others as described in an outline of contents submitted by the trustees’ Literature Committee.
• A pamphlet for gay and lesbian alcoholics be approved… the title be “A.A. and the Gay/Lesbian Alcoholic.”
• [That] General Service Conference committee items discussed, but no action taken or recommendation made, not be included in the Final Report.
• Rectify contradictions and inconsistencies between The AA. Service Manual and legal charters and by-laws.

April 22 in A.A. History

In 1957, Broadcasting Telecasting magazine, known as “The Business-weekly of Radio and Television” [right: masthead], published an item titled “‘Mr. Hope’ on WWJ-TV” [left], a show airing in Detroit, Michigan. The article described the program as follows:

    … a public service program instituted by WWJ-TV, which describes the plight of the problem drinker. Designed to tell the public about the work of Alcoholics Anonymous, Mr. Hope frequently features a panel of physicians and businessmen to discuss drinking problems and to encourage individuals with such difficulties to turn to the [sic] AA.

In 1974, Time magazine published a cover [right] story titled “Alcoholism: New Victims, New Treatments,” which stated:

    Most of the methods owe a large debt to Alcoholics Anonymous, the oldest, the big­gest (650,000 to 750,000 members) and still the most successful organization by far for helping alcoholics.… And, write Sociologists Harrison Trite and Paul Roman: “Despite lay leadership, A.A. has apparently achieved a success rate that surpasses those of professional therapies.”

    The issue had two related articles titled “Behavior: The Effects of Alcohol” and “Behavior: The Price of Alcoholism: Five Case Histories.”

In 2004, Robert Holbrook “Smitty” S., Jr [left], 85, died. He was the son of Anne and Dr. Bob S. and the last living witness to the first meeting of Alcoholics Anonymous’ co-founders, his father and Bill W.

In 2012, Ruth O., 97, of Toms River, New Jersey died with 68 years and 8 days of sobriety. At the time of her death, she may have had the longest sobriety among all previous members. She was well-known for “Ruth’s Prayer” [right]. She also knew and assisted Dr. William D. Silkworth, who wrote the letters in “The Doctor’s Opinion” in the Big Book, Alcoholics Anonymous.

In 2022, Нэргүй архичин үйлчилгээний гарын авлага (Mongolian A.A. Service Manual), approved by the 13th Mongolian A.A. Conference, went into effect. Subsequently, the Mongolian General Service Board elected Tseegii to represent Mongolia at the World A.A. Service Meeting in October.

April 22–24

In 1949, the Second Annual Tri-State Conference of Alcoholics Anonymous [left: program cover], encompassing West Texas, New Mexico, and Colorado, was held in Amarillo, Texas. Headquarters for the event was the Herring Hotel; additional activities took place at the Washington Club, at 2024 Washington St.

April 22–27

In 1968, at the 18th Annual General Service Conference, held at the Roosevelt Hotel in New York City, the following were among the advisory actions:

• To conduct a survey among A.A. members in order to gather more meaningful information regarding the effectiveness of the A.A. program of recovery.
• The first World Service Meeting be held in New York City, in the fall of 1969.
• Approved a proposition to issue the World Directory in two editions—one for the United States and Canada, the second for other countries.
• Quebec be granted a third bilingual Delegate to be elected as a member of Panel 19. The… newly designated Conference area to be called the Northeast area of Quebec.
• Since the language of the General Service Conference is English, and since [it] is not equipped to provide translators,… it is desirable that Delegates elected to the Conference should have knowledge of English for their own benefit and for the benefit of their areas.
• Stressed the need for better communication between the Delegates, Committee Members, G.S.R.’s [sic] and groups, pointing out that better informed groups will support G.S.O. without the need of a “hard sell” from the Delegate.

In 1974, at the 24th General Service Conference, held at the Hotel Roosevelt in New York City, the following were among the advisory actions:

• That in memory of A.A.’s co-founders, the last talk of each be prepared in pamphlet form and distributed [left: original pamphlet].
• Part I (U.S. and Canada) of the World Directory be divided into three sections, each section subdivided by region…
• Work be scheduled so that Part II of the World Directory (all other countries) may be distributed before summer.
• [Citing Tradition 3,] affirmed that all A.A. groups… be listed in the World Directory [R]eview and return completed draft of Conference Report one week after its receipt.
• Committee members receive agendas for their committee only, but other committees’ agenda be sent upon request.
• The wording of the Eleventh Tradition remain as is, and that delegates explain that “TV” is implicit in the last phrase of the Tradition: “… at the level of press, radio, and films.”

April 22–27

In 1979, at the 29th Annual General Service Conference, held at the Roosevelt Hotel in New York City, the following were among the advisory actions:

• That the names of “alcohol and pills” groups not be listed in the A.A. directories. 
• [That] “Problems Other Than Alcohol” be Conference-approved. 
• The Twelve Steps of A.A. be [added] in the pamphlet “Too Young?”… 
• The pamphlet for the older alcoholic be approved… “Now It’s Time to Start Living”.… 
• The biographies of Dr. Bob and Bill W. be… separate books [vs] a joint biography. 
• [That] no… ceiling be set on the number of G.S.O./GV staff eligible to vote, but that the delegates never have less than 66⅔% of the total Conference votes.

April 21 in A.A. History

In 1939, Hank P. wrote to Janet Blair, a non-alcoholic editor of Alcoholics Anonymous in Peekskill, New York, enclosing a signed first printing of the first edition of the book in grateful appreciation of her editorial contributions.

In 1946, The New York Times Magazine published an article titled “The Sick Person We Call an Alcoholic" [left], about Mrs. Marty M., a member of Alcoholics Anonymous. In the article, she “tells what we can do to help those who would quit but can’t.”
[Marty, a lesbian, used the title “Mrs.” to protect her privacy, as prejudice against homosexuality was prevalent in the 1940s. Both she and the National Committee for Education on Alcoholism, which she helped establish, faced significant challenges during that time, and revealing her sexual orientation would have damaged both.]

Today in A.A. History—April 21–25 

In 1954, at the 4th General Service Conference, held at the Hotel Commo­dore in New York City, the following were among the advisory actions:

• Unanimously, that the name The Alcoholic Foundation be changed to The General Service Board of Alcoholics Anonymous, Inc.; and
  
• “that Delegates come to the Conference being only tentatively instructed for the following reasons:
  1. that each Delegate bring to the Conference the thinking of his area, and
  2. that the maximum wisdom of the Conference be achieved and voted through the exchange of these ideas at the Conference.”

Today in A.A. History—April 21–26

In 1964 , at the 14th General Service Conference, held at the Roosevelt Hotel in New York City, the Atlantic Province Area was split into 1) New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island, and (2) Nova Scotia and Newfoundland.
    The following were among other advisory actions:

• That the responsibilities and functions of Conference Committees be explained thoroughly, prior to the selection of committeemen, at future Conferences [and] that consideration be given to the possibility of scheduling a workshop sessionon the functions of Conference Committees.
• That all members of the [Agenda] committee receive copies of all correspondence on agenda matters[,]… be informed of the action taken on their recommendations to the Policy Committee [and]… review background material on previous Conferences’ actions, as a guide in preparing recommendations for the 1965 Conference agenda.
• That all Grapevine committee members henceforth be kept informed during the year on all Grapevine matters of Conference importance.
• Approved an agreement between Bill W., co-founder, and A.A. World Services, Inc., covering royalties derived from Bill's writings.

Today in A.A. History—April 21–26

In 1969, at the 19th General Service Conference, held at the Roosevelt Hotel in New York City, the following were among the advisory actions:

• Recommended that the story of a young A.A. be added to the next reprint of the book “Alcoholics Anonymous,” and that the present stories be edited, when necessary, in order that current readers will be able to identify.
• Recommended that the General Service Conference approve the following resolution of the… General Service Board of Trustees:
  “We will endeavor to avoid participation on radio and TV programs, unless
  • We are given adequate time for preparation.
  • Our presence will serve an A.A. objective.
  • The primary discussion is appropriate for A.A.—not concerned with crime, sex, controversy or any other sensationalism.
  • We are satisfied our anonymity is guaranteed.”
• Approved the final draft of the “A.A. Service Manual,” a new revision of the “Third Legacy Manual,” with the understanding that minor editorial changes can still be made.
• [Added] to the Conference Charter:… Article 1… “…The Twelve Steps,” the sentence now to read: “…The [GSC] is the guardian of the world services, and of the Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions of Alcoholics Anonymous.”
• Disapproved the proposal for a suggested change… for regional trustees which would increase the voting body to all delegates and eliminate the trustees from voting.

In 1975 , at the 25th Annual General Service Conference, held at the Hotel Roosevelt in New York City, the following were among the advisory actions

• A two-year moratorium (until 1977) be placed on discussion of special-purpose groups.
• A paragraph dealing with the problems of the use of mood-changing pills by A.A. members who hold group office should not be added to an appropriate A.A. pamphlet, because it was felt that this decision is up to local autonomy.
• Each delegate receive only the agenda pertinent to his or her committee, but may receive any others on request.

Today in A.A. History—April 21–27

In 1966 , at the 46th General Service Conference, held at the Crowne Plaza in New York City, the following were among the advisory actions:

• “Washington State East Area 92” and “Western Washington State Area 72” be approved as the new names for these areas.
• The [parts of the] title of the chart[s] on page[s] S23 [and S46] of The A.A. Service Manual be changed from “Struture of the Fellowship” to “The General Service Conference Structure (U.S. and Canada)” to more accurately describe what is depicted.

April 20 in A.A. History

In 1936, Frank Buchman, founder of the Oxford Group, was featured on the cover of Time magazine [right]. However, the accompanying article was not favorable. Near the end, it stated:

    Until a religion grows up, it is a cult. Buchmanism is about 20 years old, a mere infant in the range of religious history. It still rallies around one man and its methods are still highly unorthodox.

In 1941, Lois W. left for a six-week cruise to South America with Fan Williamson, a descendant of Albert V. Moore, who founded the shipping company Moore-McCormack Lines, Inc. Fan invited Lois on this trip as a gesture of gratitude for helping her son, Chris, get sober while living with Bill and Lois at 182 Clinton St. in Brooklyn. Lois described Fan as “kind and charming,” while  Bill affectionately referred to her as “Ironsides.” They had met Fan while staying in the Green Pond cottage that Chris had lent them during their two years of homelessness, which began in April 1939 and was just coming to an end. Notably, Fan and Lois were the only passengers on the ship [left: the USS Mermactide, a Moore-McCormack ship that sailed from New York City to South America and back around this time].
    Helen Griffith—no relation to Bill—had recently sold Bill and Lois a house in Bedford Hills, New York, on very generous terms, effective May 1st. Since that was also the departure date for Fan and Lois, Helen allowed them to move into the house early. They named the place “Bi-Lo’s Break.” Bill stayed there during Lois’s cruise, relying on the fireplace as his only source of heat. Unfortunately, he caught a “bad cold,” which would lead to a near disaster that Lois did not learn about until her return.

 

In 1970, as he did every April, Bill W. [right] addressed the assembled General Service Conference delegates and many guests at the opening dinner held at the Hotel New Yorker in New York City. Bob H., the General Manager of the General Service Office at the time, later recalled what happened:  

He started to speak, and of a sudden he just stopped, right in the middle of the sentence. And he just stood there for a little bit, and then said, “I’m sorry. I can’t continue.” And he went and sat down. Everybody was really taken aback at this, because if there was one thing Bill could always do, it was speak—eloquently and articulately and persuasively.

Today in A.A. History—April 20–22

In 1951, the first experimental General Service Conference (GSC) convened at the Hotel Commodore [left, c. 1940] in New York City, with 37 area delegates, 15 trus­tees, and 10 staff members from the Alcoholic Foundation Office and Grapevine. The Conference recognized that only half of the Areas were represented; as a result,

    Disposition of a number of problems was deferred until next year when representatives of the second panel will join the Conference.

Among the six advisory actions was this unanimously-approved one:

    [T]hat in future years A.A. textbook literature should have Conference approval.…

This was followed by a note:

    [This would not preclude the continued [printing of] documents by non-Foundation sources. No desire to review, edit or censor non-Foundation material is implied.

Today in A.A. History—April 20–24

In 1960, the 10th GSC convened at the Roosevelt Hotel [left, c. 1940] in New York City.
    The Board reported that A.A. Publishing, Inc. had been renamed A. A. World Services, Inc.
    “The Sense of the Meeting” report was titled “Need For Improved Internal and External Communications Was Dominant Theme.”
    Advisory actions included:

    that A. A World Services undertake a thorough study of the immediate and long-range needs for A. A. literature in languages other than English.

Today in A.A. History—April 20–26

In 1986, the 36th General Service Conference convened at the Hotel Roosevelt in New York City.
    Three new Class A Trustees were elected to the Board, each bringing a record of service and experience in their fields: Dr. John Smith (public health), Amos Reed (corrections), and John King (social work) [right, respectively].
    Among the 81 Advisory Actions were:    

• the Grapevine produce a trial tape in Spanish and a trial tape in French…;
  
• a definitive book on A.A. history from 1955-1985 be prepared…;
  
• as the preface to the Big Book clearly states that the text was written in 1939 and that it has not been changed, no further explanation regarding out-of-date phrases and/or gender-oriented pronouns or chapter titles is necessary;
  
• a story of a gay alcoholic not be included in the Big Book.

April 19 in A.A. History

In 1939,  John Henry Fitzhugh “Fitz” M. [right] received a copyright affidavit for Al­coholics Anonymous. Although he had been informed that this was an urgent matter and had received, by April 12, instructions along with the books and funds needed to file, he did not complete the filing until a week later. The instructions also specified that the book be registered to Works Publishing Company; however, he listed the owner as “Wm. G. W▓▓▓, trading as Works Publishing Co.” and the author as “Wm. G. W▓▓▓.”

In 1941, Dave W., Bob E., and Cal S. held the first A.A. meeting in Seattle, Washington, at the New Washington Hotel [left, c. 1910].

In 1941, an article about Alcoholics Anonymous by Lowel Lucas was published in the Jacksonville (Florida) Journal. Earlier that month, A.A. member Tom S. had visited the Journal and spoken with the city editor, informing him about the national A.A. movement and its local initiatives. This article was the result of that conversation. Lucas forwarded inquiries from the paper that arose from the article to Tom. The first responses came from Charlie P., Bruce H., and Hugh C.. As a result, the Central Group of A.A. was established, meeting at 2747 Riverside Ave. [right] in Jacksonville. All four founding members died sober.

 

In 1943, Florence R. K. died of pneumococcal meningitis.
    She got sober in New York City as Florence R. around March 1938 and remained sober until at least April 1939, when the Big Book, Alcoholics Anonymous, was published; the name change of the publishing company from The One Hundred Men Corporation to Works Publishing, Inc. was due to her getting sober and joining A.A. She wrote “A Feminine Victory” for the first edition of that book. While writing her story, she prayed for inspiration to present it in a way that would encourage other women to seek the help she had received. Later that year, Florence moved to Washington, D.C., to assist Fitz M. (“Our Southern Friend”) in starting an A.A. group there.
    In a letter to Bill W. in 1939^*, Fitz wrote, “She is in love with a hellion 15 years younger than she who feeds her beer—so says her landlady.” She ended up marrying him but then she disappeared. Eventually, Fitz was called to a morgue to identify her body.

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^* This letter is in the Washington [D.C.] Area Intergroup Association (WAIA) archives.

April 18 in A.A. History

Today in A.A. History—April 18–22

In 1956, at the 6th General Service Conference, at the Commodore Hotel in New York City, the Conference…

    … unanimously approved of Bill’s new book [A.A. Comes of Age].

    The Conference also approved a motion…

    … asking that General Service Headquarters designate Thanksgiving Week each year as “A.A. Gratitude Week” and that this action be noted in the annual pre-Thanksgiving appeals to the groups for funds to help support worldwide services.

During the final session, Bill W. proposed consideration of four principles “that might someday permeate all of A.A.’s services,” namely “Petition, Appeal, Participation, and Decision”—foreshadowing Concepts III, IV, and V.

Today in A.A. History—April 18–23

In 1966, at the 16th General Service Conference, held at the Hotel Roosevelt in New York City, the ratio of Class B [alcoholic] trustees to Class A [non-alcoholic] trustees was changed to give Class B trustees a super-majority of two-thirds, rather than the previous simple majority. For 11 years, Bill W. had pursued this change, debating it endlessly at ten consecutive General Service Conferences. In a 1958 letter to Class A Trustee Harrison M. Trice, Bill outlined four reasons why he believed A.A. needed a majority of alcoholic trustees:

1. the increased press of work with which A.A. has no business saddling the nonalcoholic members;…
2. the increasing importance of proper determination of the A.A. policy and its administration, which the nonalcoholics have, wrongly, I think, disclaimed all ability to handle;…
3. the need for wider representation geographically of alcoholic trustees; and…
4. it is unsound psychologically for a movement of the present size and maturity to take a childish and fearful view that a majority of alcoholics cannot be trusted to sit on our most important board…

In 1977, at the 27th General Service Conference, at the Statler Hilton Hotel in New York City, the Conference approved Floor Action #3, which recommended that

    The publication of a facsimile of the first edition of the Big Book should not be undertaken, as it would destroy the sentimental value of the actual first edition.

Today in A.A. History—April 18–24

In 2021, the 71st General Service Conference was held online [right: Class A Trustee and A.A. Grapevine chair Michele Grinberg speaking from “the floor”]. With the COVID-19 pan­demic continuing into its second year, the Conference coordinators had time to prepare for the likelihood of an online format. Among the recommendations made during the Conference were:

• Change “men and women” in the Preamble to “people.”
• “A Fifth Edition of… Alcoholics Anonymous, be developed;…” “A Fourth Edition of… Alcohólicos Anónimos, be developed…”
• Revise Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions: on p. 117, replace “opposite sex” with “partner;” on p. 66, replace, “No one wants to be angry enough to murder, lustful enough to rape, gluttonous enough to ruin his health” with “No one wants to commit the deadly sins of anger, lust or gluttony.”
• On p. 12 of “Questions and Answers on Sponsorship,” change “… be of the same sex” to “… be avoided whenever a romantic entanglement might arise between sponsor and sponsee.”
• “A draft version of the book, Alcoholics Anonymous (Fourth Edition), be translated into plain and simple language…”
• Develop a process for polling the General Service Conference between annual meetings, enabling online discussion and debate, broader participation, and greater efficiency.
• Implement a three-year trial of “The Equitable Distribution of Workload Process… for the 72nd General Service Conference…”
• U.S./Canada General Service recognize online groups and encourage their participation, superseding a 1997 Advisory Action designating online groups as “International Correspondence Meetings.” Form a GSB committee to explore possibilities for participation of online groups in the U.S./Canada General Service structure.”
• Add guardianship of the Twelve Concepts to the Purpose statement of the Current Conference Charter, which already names the Twelve Steps and the Twelve Traditions.

April 17 in A.A. History

In 1937, Albert “Abby” G. [right] was admitted to Akron City Hospital in Ohio by Dr. Bob S., marking his first day of sobriety. The first Cleveland group met at his house [left] on May 11th, while he was still in Akron. His story, “He Thought He Could Drink Like a Gentleman,” appears in the 2nd and 3rd Editions of Alcoholics Anonymous.

In 1939, a week after the first printing of Alcoholics Anonymous, the dust jackets were printed, adding $147.47 [~$3,393 in 2025] to Works Publishing’s bill. Copies shipped prior to this may have been enclosed in glassine wrappers—thin, almost transparent paper coverings—or other types of non-descript wrappers. No copy with such a cover is known to exist, but it would be extremely valuable if one were ever to appear [left: 1st ed. without, with dust jacket].

In 1941, Herman “Tex” A. [near right, at Hole in the Ground] established the Hole in the Ground Group, the second A.A. group in the Los Angeles, California, area. He was the older brother of Sybil C. [far right, at Hole in the Ground], the first woman in A.A. west of the Mississippi River, having joined A.A. one week after she did. Both had been attending meetings in Los Angeles when Tex remarked, “I’m just sick of picking up guys in Long Beach and driving them thirty-five miles [~56 km] to Los Angeles, so I’m starting a group at the halfway point.” This decision displeased the “down town boys,” who “excommunicated” Tex, but he just laughed it off. He appointed Sybil as the coffee maker and greeter for the new group, and she delivered her first “shaky” lead there.
    On 7 December 1941, the group would move to 6909 Rugby Ave., Huntington Park, California.

In 2018, Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc. (AAWS) launched a YouTube channel [left] featuring three videos: “Doors,” “My World,” and “I Have Hope,” all available in English, French, and Spanish.

Supporting A.A. in Ukraine

[Note that this post was written in March 2022, shortly after the full-scale invasion of the Ukraine by the Russian Federation.]

An A.A. friend sent me a very well-done flyer for an online A.A. meeting in Kyiv, Ukraine. It's shown to the left, but I've removed the Meeting ID and Passcode; I don't want to make it that  easy to attend. When I first saw it, I thought, "I only wish that we could do something similar for all the Russian alcoholics, who must also be terribly distressed at this time" (especially those in the Russian military).

This flyer was immediately followed by a less well-done message, shown below, purporting to be from "Ukrainian AA Service Center and the Ukrainian AA Service Board" to "the AA World Community." I was skeptical. This looked so much like a myth that I expected to find it debunked at Snopes ("the internet’s definitive fact-checking resource"). I did not. But I did find an article titled, "UKRAINE: New Crisis, Grimly Familiar Disinformation Trends", which said, in part, 

It is a grim measure of the frequency of crisis events in recent years, and the ubiquity of online disinformation, that when a major story breaks — a terrorist attack, a mass shooting, or an act of war — the writers and editors at Snopes can typically predict what comes next. Recycled videos and photographs, stripped from their proper context, and the same old tropes, all designed to inflame or confuse, or even amuse, the reader.

This is followed by a "grim overview of the familiar disinformation trends and recurring memes… in the opening days of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine."

But, as I said, I only later looked on Snopes. First I searched the Internet. To my surprise, I immediately got a hit that looked very promising. It was on the aa.lviv.ua website and looked like this:

Since I don't know what I presumed was Ukrainian, and not having much patience, I immediately had the page automatically translated into English. It is indeed Ukrainian, and here's the English translation I got:

It was only later that I noticed that an English translation of the message follows the Ukrainian on the original, one click further down. I felt stupid and impatient for not looking.

Ultimately, I decided I'd check into the Kyiv online meeting and see if there was some way I could be helpful. I tried to log in a few minutes before it was to start. Due to the meeting having reached capacity, it was impossible to get in. It then occurred to me, If I'm having this much trouble getting in, there are probably Ukrainians who are also unable to get in. It horrified me to think that I could have had a part in disrupting their meeting. If, by some miracle, I had been able to get in, I sure hope I would have realized that the meeting was at capacity and left. But even if I had, my spot would have been filled by a non-Ukrainian.

I tried joining after the meeting was over. It was bedlam. It appeared that most people were unmuted and there were multiple conversations going on at the same time. I saw one man, who appeared to be that single Ukrainian member. He appeared to be quite stressed out. I also saw some A.A.friends of mine, which was disappointing. I only stayed a minute. The last thing they needed at that point was yet one more non-Ukrainian A.A. to join the fray.

Tonight, I learned from a reliable source that only one of the seven or eight regular Ukrainian group members was able to get into the meeting (presumably, the Zoom host). No doubt, many of the attendees had good intentions, although I'm also pretty sure some did not. Clearly, many also didn't think through the consequences of their actions.

And then, very late last night, My friend said that another friend of hers had found a Facebook post about the A.A. meeting in Kyiv earlier, shown at the left. It was so disheartening to read. Yes, many non-Ukrainians—maybe hundreds of them—got to feel good for a minute. Meanwhile, seven or eight locals never got to their meeting.

God As We Understand Him?

 I recently read Bill W.'s essay, “God As We Understand Him: The Dilemma of No Faith”, in The Language of the Heart (originally published as “The Dilemma of No Faith” in the April 1961 issue of the A.A. Grapevine). He begins this essay by saying, “The phrase ‛God As We Understand Him’ is perhaps the most important expression to be found in our whole AA vocabulary.”

For a long time, I've been vaguely uncomfortable with this wording, even though I knew what it meant the first time I heard it. In the last few years, but not in my early sobriety, I've sometimes heard newcomers asking about this expression, “How can anyone understand God?”  in a way that led me to think that perhaps this was an impediment for them. I realized my discomfort is just that. Perhaps understanding is not the best word. I think “God As We Conceive of God” is closer to the intended meaning. It will be interesting to see how the proposed plain language Big Book^* (i.e., Alcoholics Anonymous) will deal with this phrase. If at all.

---

^* If you don't know what this is or what it means, check out Advisory Action #28 (on p 7) in this document: Conference Advisory Actions of the 71st General Service Conference, a list of all such actions adopted at the 71st General Service Conference last April.

19,560 days

Yes, I am still sober, still above ground. My posts slowed down drastically and then stopped altogether because I feared it would become too easy to identify who I was from my posts, due to circumstances of my life. Already, my brother had figured out this was me. For those who don't realize it, I was doing my best to respect Tradition 12. My brother already knew I was a deeply involved member of A.A.

Future posts will probably be less personal, on the whole. I hope this is, at least in part, because I have less interest in myself and more interest in others [v. Alcoholics Anonymous, p 84].

A.A. in these times of pandemic has been a great experience for me personally. Since mid-March 2020, I've attended online meetings on every continent that has them (Antarctica does not, due to insufficient bandwidth). I've been regularly attending meetings all over the US and Canada, as well as in Australia and South Africa. It has also become much easier to find workshops, conventions, conferences, and meetings that focus on topics like Traditions, Concepts, The A.A. Service Manual, and A.A. history. These are topics that I love learning about. I've been sober almost 29 years, been involved in General Service for 25½ of those years, but I sometimes think I've learned more about General Service in the last 16 months than in all the time before. Maybe not. Maybe it just feels that way.

Eighteen years

Still here, still sober, even if I'm not posting. Yesterday I celebrated 18 years of continuous sobriety.