January 12 in A.A. History

Bill's 3rd pledge
written in the family Bible

In 1929, Bill W. wrote a third pledge [right] in the family Bible: “To tell you once more that I am finished with it. I love you.”

In 1966, Horace C., 75, died in Readington, New Jersey. He joined A.A. (#81?) in December 1938, shortly after Bill W. had written the Twelve Steps for what would become the Big Book, Alcoholics Anonymous.
    Bill and Lois W., who were homeless from April 1939 to April 1941, lived in his bungalow in Green Pond, New Jersey, in the spring of 1939.
    In 1940, Horace and Bert T. found the site and guaranteed the rent for the first A.A. clubhouse on 24th Street in Manhattan.
    That same year he became a Class B (alcoholic) Trustee of the Alcoholic Foundation. He was Vice-President of Works Publishing, Inc. when its financial report was published in June 1940.
    His picture appeared in Jack Alexander’s March 1941 article in The Saturday Evening Post, “Alcoholics Anonymous: Freed Slaves of Drink, Now They Free Others.”
    After Jack C. gave Ruth Hock a newspaper clipping of the Serenity Prayer, Horace suggested that they print it on wallet cards and then paid for the printing.       In the early 1940s, the Alcoholic Foundation sent him to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Baltimore, Maryland and Washington, D.C. to sound out groups and gain support for the Alcoholic Foundation’s headquarters in New York City.

January 11 in A.A. History

In 2008, a memorial service honoring Robert “Bob” P. was held in Sun Valley, Idaho following his death on January 1. Bob made significant contributions to Alcoholics Anonymous, serving on the General Service Board from 1968 to 1974 and as General Service Office (G.S.O.) General Manager from 1974 to 1984. His personal story, “A.A. Taught Him to Handle Sobriety,” is in the 3rd and 4th editions of the Big Book, Alcoholics Anonymous [see January 1 for more about Bob P.].

 

January 10 in A.A. History

In 1944, a letter, presumably sent to the Alcoholic Foundation in New York City, announced the first meeting of a group in Burlington, Iowa, with five members and a contingent from Des Moines, Iowa, to start them off. Also present was a Catholic priest, Father T. J. Lew, who was so taken with what he saw that he preached his Sunday sermon on A.A. By the end of the month, Des Moines membership would be up to 50, and a group would have started in Marshalltown, Iowa.

January 9 in A.A. History

In 1925, in Manchester Center, Vermont, an intoxicated Edwin “Ebby” T., driving home, drove his “straight eight” Packard across a large lot, onto the porch, through the door, and into the kitchen of Mrs. Kate Gilmore and her daughter Elizabeth, striking a stove in the middle of the room, moving it about a foot, and scattering soot. A water pipe was also broken, requiring an immediate call for a plumber to shut off the water. The only damage to the car was a broken fender.
    Neither Ebby, his two passengers, nor the Gilmores were injured. One passenger, realizing they were in a kitchen, “demanded a cup of hot coffee.” Ebby backed the car onto the highway, went to Justice of the Peace Frank Regan in Manchester, and reported the accident. He hadn’t gotten his new driver’s license yet, and the car had a 1924 New York license plate. The next day, Saturday, he was fined $50 [~$901 in 2025] + costs [left: page one article in The Bennington Herald, 12 Jan 1925].

In 1952, the first “Family Groups” office, called the “Clearing-house Committee” began operating out of the 24th Street Clubhouse in New York City. 

January 8 in A.A. History

In 1933, Russell “Bud” Firestone spoke at an Oxford Group meeting at Briarcliff Manor, New York. The next day, the Cleveland Plain Dealer would report:

    From polo player and pleasure-loving young man-about-town to a serious-minded follower of Dr. Frank N. D. Buchman, Princeton University’s famous pastor and leader of undergraduate spiritual thought, was the experience related last night by Russell (Bud) Firestone, son of Harvery S. Firestone, Akron (O.) tire manufacturer.…
    Firestone told of his college days at Princeton University and that his chief aim in life was to have a good time.
    He stated that now he was leading an entirely new life and that he had gained peace and happiness from following the lines of conduct incorporated in the new movement.…

Jim B.

In 1938, James “Jim” B. [right] came out of a two-week binge, “D-Day,” as he later called it. His mother only allowed him to come home (at age 39) if he…

stayed locked in a small storeroom and gave her my clothes and shoes.… That is way Jackie found me, lying on a cot in my skivvies, with hot and cold sweats, pounding heart, and that awful itchy scratchiness all over.

Jackie had been sent by Fitz Mayo, Jim’s old school friend. Jim commented

    Had he come two or three days later, I think I would have thrown him out, but he hit me when I was open for anything.
    Jackie arrived about seven in the evening and talked until three a.m. I don’t remember much of what he said, but I did realize that here was another guy exactly like me… Jackie told me about a group fellows in New York, of whom my old friend Fitz was one, who had the same problem I had, and who, by working together to help each other, were now not drinking and were happy like himself.

Jim would drink again in June, but then get and stay sober from June 16th on. His story in the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th editions of the Big Book, Alcoholics Anonymous, was “The Vicious Cycle.”

In 1939, Bill W. and Hank P. bought a pad of blank stock certificates at a stationery store. Back at the Newark, New Jersey office, Hank had Ruth Hock type “One Hundred Men Corporation, par value $25.00” at the top of each certificate. He then signed his name at the bottom: “Henry G. P▒▒▒▒▒, President.” Bill later called these “irregularities,” and said he protested at the time, but Hank replied that there was “no time to waste,” and besides, why bother with such “small details?”

January 7 in A.A. History

In 1939, after working out the details of selling stock in a publishing company to raise money and thereby retain ownership of what would become the Big Book, Alcoholics Anonymous, Bill W. and Hank P. “burn up the telephone to [Willard Richardson in] New York and even to Ohio where Frank Amos” was presumably enjoying a three-week vacation. They presented an outline of the new company and the stock plan, and asked a simple question, “Would you therefore be in favor that [we] make an effort to secure stock subscriptions for a corporation to take over the book on the terms [we] have just described?” Bill, at least, expected a bad reaction, and that is what they got. Neither Richardson nor Amos agreed, and both advised caution before taking any further steps

Bill's letter

In 1953, Bill W. sent out a manuscript of new essays on the Twelve Steps for “criticisms and suggestions.” His letter [left] reminded recipients that “last spring…” he had “circulated… a similar piece of writing on A.A.’s Twelve Traditions” and said that “since then, following considerable discussion, a plan had evolved to perhaps combine the two manuscripts into a single book [Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions]…” He noted that Harper & Bros. had made “a very favorable offer” to distribute the book to “the outside public,” and that he’d like to have the book approved by the General Service Conference in April.

In 1984, Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc. (AAWS) published Pass It On: The Story of Bill W—and how the A.A. message reached the world. Mel B. was the primary author, with assistance from a number of others.

January 6 in A.A. History

In 1941, Bill W. responded to a letter from Jack Alexander, who had enclosed a manuscript of his article on A.A., written for The Saturday Evening Post. Bill’s eagerness was evident:

    I wish I could adequately convey to you the sense of gratitude that every one of us feels towards you and the Saturday Post for what is about to take place. You can not possibly conceive the direct alleviation of so much misery as will be brought to an end through your pen and your good publishers. For many a day you will be the toast of A.A.—in Coca-Cola, of course!

In 1955, Bill W.’s stepmother, Christine Bock W., 77, died in Los Angeles, California. She would be buried with Bill’s father in the East Dorset (Vermont) Cemetery.

A Concordance to
Alcoholics Anonymous

In 2000, Stephen P., 63, died at Washoe Medical Center, in Reno, Nevada, after a 6½-year battle with chronic myelogenous leukemia. Stephen—with his wife Frances—compiled A Concordance to Alcoholics Anonymous [right], first published in August 1990.
    Under the pseudonym Stephen Whitfield, with minimal contributions from Gene Roddenberry, he also wrote the classic book The Making of Star Trek, the first—and for many years the only—specialized reference book on behind-the-scenes aspects of Star Trek production, published in 1968.

January 5 in A.A. History

Tom Uzzell

In 1939, Hank P. wrote to Bill W. after receiving a letter in which Tom Uzzell [left], editor of the book manuscript, wrote 

I spent last evening with the manuscript... on reading additional chapters... I found myself deeply moved, at times full of amazement, almost incredulity, and during most of the reading I was extremely sympathetic. My feeling at the moment is that you should certainly hold on to the production and distribution of this volume... I don't know what else you could want for a good book. I believe in it most em­phatically... The whole book needs the final shaping of a professional hand... I understand better now the enthusiasm your with me about this work. I thought you were exaggerating somewhat but now I have joined the choir invisible.

Shortly thereafter, Uzzell began editing the material that Hank and Bill had sent him, resulting in a pre-publication manuscript that in a few months would become the Big Book, Alcoholics Anonymous.

In 1940, Clarence S. wrote to Bill W.,

Have attended two of Doc S.’s meetings since he has been holding them in his home, and they have been very well attended and very inspirational.
    Doc led our meeting, and never have I heard him in such fine fettle. Noticed a vast improvement since he pulled his gang out of the Williamses’. Now speaks with authority and no pussyfooting, and I believe he looks ten years younger.

    In 1977, John R. recalled,

I’m not sure, but I think we had two meetings there. You should have seen Doc’s house! His little living room wasn’t much bigger that this little house we live in. We were crowded up pretty good there

In 1941, Bill and Lois W. were spending the weekend at the home of A.A. members Ruth and Wilbur S. in Chattaqua, New York. The day before the S▒▒▒s had shown the W▒▒▒s an empty house in Bedford Hills owned by the widow Mrs. Helen Griffith (no relation to Bill). She wanted to meet the couple, so they returned to the house to see her. Helen made them an offer: to sell the house to them for $6,500 [~$140,000 in 2025], significantly less than her original asking price, with no down-payment and a $40 [~$860 in 2025] a month mortgage payment with no interest for at least one year. After Bill made some quick mental calculations, he and Lois accepted Helen’s offer. [Lois Remembers says this happened in early March.]

January 4 in A.A. History

In 1939, Bill W. wrote Frank Amos that the One Hundred Men book (which would be published shortly as Alcoholics Anonymous) was nearly finished but that more editing might be needed, that a copy had been given to Tom Uzzell for this work and that “one more consultation with the boys in Akron will be necessary.”

In 1939, Dr. Bob S. wrote to Ruth Hock that A.A. needed “to get away from the Oxford Group atmosphere.” But it would be December before the Akron’s “alcoholic squad” left and began holding their own A.A. meetings. [This may have actually occurred on the 5th or the 10th.]

In 1940, Sarah Klein, 53, daughter of a proud, privileged New York family, non-alcoholic wife of an alcoholic, and alcoholic Archie T. first met in his dingy third-floor walk-up room on Kirby St. between Cass Ave. and 2nd St. to form the first A.A. group in Detroit, Michigan. They would meet weekly and seek prospects together.
    In April 1939, Sarah had received and read an early copy of the Big Book, Alcoholics Anonymous. Impressed, Sarah wrote to the Alcoholic Foundation in New York City asking how they intended to put into practice what was written in the book. The Foundation replied that an unnamed member (Archie) who was sobering up in Akron would be returning home to Detroit in mid-summer. The Foundation also sent a letter to Archie, who was recovering at the home of Clarence S. 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 A.A. friends Ruth and Wilbur S. in Chappaqua, New York. Their hosts picked them up at the local train station. Bill noticed that they’d passed through Chappaqua and were approaching Bedford Hills. Ruth said she had a surprise for them. She and Wilbur wanted to show them a house they thought would be perfect for the still-homeless couple. It was owned by a widow friend of Ruth’s, who admired A.A. greatly after seeing it help one of her friends. They found 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. There were six more rooms: three bedrooms and a kitchen downstairs, a long library with bookshelves and a bedroom upstairs. Despite their initial misgivings, they fell in love with the place and bought it that spring.

In 1941, Jack Alexander wrote to Bill W., enclosing a manuscript of the article he had written on A.A. for The Saturday Evening Post.

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

In 1950, The Johnson City (Tennessee) Press briefly reported on a recently aired documentary “presented by” A.A.

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

January 3 in A.A. History

Bill W. in France in 1919

In 1919, Bill W. [right: in France, 1919] wrote to Lois that the men of his artillery battery had “paid him special honor,” saying,

    Quite a touching thing happened just before we came here. The men presented Captain S. [Sackville] & I [sic] each with a watch chain and a ring. They lined up the whole battery and I tell you it was equal to promotion and decoration by [General] J. J. Pershing himself! Coming as it did from a clear ploy it was quite overwhelming. Wouldn’t have changed insignia with a Brig. [Brigadier] Gen. [General] It means so much more than promotion. In so far as I know we are the only people in the reg. [regiment] who have been so honored. I know you’ll be as happy and proud as I am. The watch is an elaborate gold and silver affair, the chain a very light gold one which several of the boys _^^rather shyly “opined” would look well against a “[illegible]” vest. The ring is a plain & gold one with a facet for a monogram [sic] Am terribly inflated & stuck up.

In 1946, Ian MacE. wrote to the Alcoholic Foundation in New York City asking for help and became the first A.A. member in New Zealand.
    Previously, he had tried every known treatment for his drinking problem without success. In late 1945 Ian had checked himself into the Nelson Psychiatric Hospital. While in the reading room, he picked up a copy of the No­vem­ber 1944 issue of Reader’s Digest and read an article condensed from Argosy, which had published the full article in October 1944. It was titled “‘Maybe I Can Do It Too!’” by Edward McG., an alcoholic who had recovered with the help of a fellowship called Alcoholics Anonymous. Ian had never heard of A.A. but he identified with the article in a way he had never identified with anyone before. A note at the end of the article said, “A postcard sent to P.O. Box 459, Grand Central Annex, New York 17, N.Y., will bring further information about this organization.” Ian wrote to that address and took the first step in his own recovery, and A.A. in New Zealand was born.

January 2 in A.A. History

In 1889, Bridget Della Mary Gavin was born in Shanvilly, County Mayo, Ireland. After immigrating to the United States, she entered the Sisters of Charity of St. Augustine in Cleveland, Ohio and was given the religious name Sister Mary Ignatia. An accomplished musician, she was assigned to teach music. She did this for about ten years, but found it “too hectic” and suffered a nervous breakdown.
    After her recovery, her superior assigned her to work in the admissions office at St. Thomas Hospital in Ak­ron, Ohio. Despite the hospital’s policy of not treating drunks, she began secretly doing so in 1934. She would go on to help Dr. Bob S. and thousands of alcoholics, becoming known as “The Drunks’ Little Angel of Hope” [right: Sr. Ignatia interviewing an alcoholic for possible admission].

In 1896, Harry Tiebout was born in Brooklyn, New York. According to the unsigned introduction to Harry Tiebout: The Collected Writings (1999), “He would become the first psychiatrist to publicly recognize and uphold the work of Alcoholics Anonymous” and was “uniquely distinguished for having facilitated communication between the worlds of alcoholism and psychiatry.”

In 1896, Dr. Bob S. wrote to Bill W.,

    Have definitely shaken off the shackles of the Oxford Group and are meeting at my house for the time being. Had 74 Wednesday in my little house, but shall get a hall soon [top right: living room; below right: aerial view of 855 Ardmore Ave, Akron, Ohio].

In 1896, The Mid-Southern California (Area 09) Archives moved to its second location on Brockton Ave. in Riverside.

January 1 in A.A. History

Olney Hymns, p 53

In 1773, “Amazing Grace,” as it is now known, was first performed in public at a prayer meeting in Olney, Buckinghamshire, England. It was written in 1772 by English Anglican clergyman and poet John Newton to illustrate the day’s sermon, originally titled “I Chronicles 17:16-17” [left: from Olney Hymns (1779), p. 53]. It is not known whether the verses were accompanied by music; they may have been chanted by the congregation.
    Newton had grown up without any particular religious beliefs. He had been pressed into service in the Royal Navy. After leaving the service, he became involved in the Atlantic slave trade. In 1748, a violent storm had battered his ship off the coast of County Donegal, Ireland, so badly that he cried out to God for mercy. This moment had marked his spiritual conversion, but he continued to trade slaves until 1754 or 1755, when he ended his seafaring career. Newton then began to study Christian theology, was ordained in the Church of England in 1764, and later became an abolitionist.

In 1943, The Columbus Dispatch reported on the first anniversary of the Central Group of A.A. in Columbus, Ohio.

In 1946, The A.A. Grapevine raised the cost of an annual subscription from $1.50 to $2.50 [~$26 to $43 in 2025] and of each issue from 15¢ to 25¢ [~$2.60 to $4.30 in 2024].

In 1948, Harry G., an A.A. member from Indiana was in Tokyo, Japan writing a book about the war crimes trials of 1945–48. He started an English-speaking A.A. group, the first in Japan. After an article about A.A. appeared in Pacific Stars and Stripes, the Alcoholic Foundation in New York City was flooded with letters from members of the U.S. Armed Forces in Japan. The Foundation forwarded their names to Harry, who had written the Foundation in December 1947, suggesting that Japan was fertile ground for A.A. This would eventually lead to the establishment of Japanese-language groups throughout the country.

In 1975, Bill W.: My First 40 Years, Bill’s autobiography as told to Robert Thomsen, was published.

In 1988, West Virginia A.A. established the first statewide toll-free telephone hotline.

In 2002, The second meeting of the month-long Online Service Conference (OSC) was opened. There were 59 participants: 33 group representatives, plus alternates and the Steering Committee. This OSC continued the discussion of many of the issues considered at the first Conference. The agenda included:

1. definition of an “online A.A. group,”
2. online literature publication and AAWS copyrights,
3. using online A.A. to reach those who cannot be served by “face to face” A.A.,

4. anonymity guidelines for the Internet,

5. issues affecting world unity of the A.A. Fellowship, and

6. future OSC participation with other A.A. organizations.

In 2004, The fourth meeting of the month-long Online Service Conference (OSC) opened. Forty-eight groups were represented, with alternates and Steering Committee members bringing the total to 73.

In 2008,Robert “Bob” P., 90, died peacefully of “old age” at his home in Bellevue, Idaho, with his wife, children, and grandchildren by his side. He had been a writer, veteran, community leader, and longtime trusted servant in A.A. from 1961 until his death. He served on A.A.’s General Service Board from 1968–74 and as G.S.O. General Manager from 1974–84. His story, “A.A. Taught Him to Handle Sobriety,” appeared in the 3rd and 4th editions of the Big Book, Alcoholics Anonymous. He also wrote a well-known unpublished manuscript of A.A. history in 1985.
    He is best remembered for his powerful and inspiring closing talk at the 1986 General Service Conference, where he addressed what he considered to be AA's greatest danger: rigidity.

    If you were to ask me what is the greatest danger facing A.A. today, I would have to answer: the growing rigidity—the increasing demand for absolute answers to nit-picking questions; pressure for GSO to “enforce” our Traditions; screening alcoholics at closed meetings; prohibiting non-Conference-approved literature, i.e., “banning books;” laying more and more rules on groups and members. And in this trend toward rigidity, we are drifting farther and farther away from our co-founders. Bill, in particular, must be spinning in his grave, for he was perhaps the most permissive person I ever met.

    One of his favorite sayings was, “Every group has the right to be wrong.” He was maddeningly tolerant of his critics, and he had absolute faith that faults in A.A. were self-correcting.
   Bob’s writing career as a writer began in the midst of amid scandal when Scribner's Magazine revealed that he had ghostwritten hundreds of term papers for fellow students at seven universities. “Both the Associated Press and the United Press carried it,” Bob said in a 2004 interview. “It almost cost me my diploma.”
   After the scandal, Shell Oil Co. hired Bob to work in its public relations department until he joined the U.S. Navy during World War ll. During the war, his destroyer escort was part of the historic capture of a German U-boat that contained the hardware and codes for the Enigma radio codes used by the Nazis. The capture took place north of the Azores just days before D-Day. While in the Navy, Bob also wrote speeches for Presidents Franklin Roosevelt and Harry Truman and other top Navy officials.

 

 

 

 

 

December 31 in A.A. History

1940 Detroit AA
New Year's Eve party

In 1937, Bill and Lois W. hosted a gala New Year’s Eve party at 182 Clinton St. to which they invited nearly 30 people, including most, if not all, of the members of the New York City A.A. group and a number of other friends and relatives.

In 1940, The very first major A.A. event in Detroit, Michigan, was a New Year’s Eve celebration at Mike E.’s house with about 20 members and their spouses or guests, for a total of about forty people [right: photo taken that night].

December 30 in A.A. History

In 1921, Ella Brock Griffith, 72, Bill W.’s maternal grandmother, died of a cerebral hemorrhage in her bed in Dorset, Vermont. She and her husband, Gardner Fayette Griffith, had raised Bill from the age of 10. She would be buried in East Dorset Cemetery.

In 2001, Arthur S. [left], 81, of Arlington, Texas died after a long illness. Born and raised in Yonkers, New York, Arthur attended one of the first computer schools in the world. He spent his entire professional life working with computers.
    When he retired to Texas, he pursued his avocation as a historian, traveling the country with friends giving history presentations. He authored “A Narrative Timeline of AA History,” perhaps the most detailed and accurate compendium of facts about A.A. history

December 29 in A.A. History

Dr. Bob's letter to Ed W.

In 1946, Dr. Bob S. wrote a two-page note [right] to Ed W., apparently after receiving some kind of gems or jewels:

My Dear Ed, –

    The [illegible] reached me safely & thanks a lot for them. My jeweller [sic] is taking them to NY some time next month to see what can be done with them most advantageously. I imagine that the red one will wind up as a pendant. It was swell of you to send them. I have enjoyed your little book very much & know that it will prove to be of a lot of help to many. I had a number of letters & cards from folks at camp, [illegible], McCombs, Dr. Bennett, [illegible] Schneiders, Muenknoellers, et al. Wish we could go up next year but have serious misgivings about it. It does not look now as tho we could. Am following your advice and leave in ten days for Florida for a month.

    Love to Hazel
        Most sincerely

            Dr. Bob

    Dr. Bob’s reference to “your little book,” was to a book with the full title The Little Red Book: A Suggested Outline for Ref­erence and Study of the Working Mechanics of the Twelve Steps. Ed was the primary author of this book, and Dr. Bob was one of several who assisted in its writing and editing.

December 28 in A.A. History

In 1890, Frank Horace C. [right], known as “Horace,” was born in Manhattan, New

Horace C.

York, to Frances Moore and Joseph C., the 2nd of 4 children, all boys.
    He would become an A.A. member (#81?) in December 1938, shortly after Bill W. had written the Twelve Steps for what would become the Big Book, Alcoholics Anonymous.
    Bill and Lois W., homeless from April 1939 to April 1941, would stay at his bungalow in Green Pond, New Jersey, in the spring of 1939.
    In 1940, with Bert T., he would find the site and guarantee the rent for what would become the first A.A. clubhouse on 24th Street in Manhattan.
    That same year, he would become a Class B (alcoholic) Trustee of the Alcoholic Foundation. He would be Vice-President of Works Publishing, Inc. at the time its financial report was published in June 1940.
    His picture would appear in Jack Alexander’s March 1941 article in The Saturday Evening Post, “Alcoholics Anonymous: Freed Slaves of Drink, Now They Free Others.”
    After Jack C. gave Ruth Hock a newspaper clipping of the Serenity Prayer, Horace would suggest that it be printed on wallet cards and then pay for the printing.
    In the early 1940s, the Alcoholic Foundation would send him to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Baltimore, Maryland and Washington, D.C. to sound out groups about and obtain support for the Alcoholic Foundation’s headquarters in New York City.

 In 1988, John “Captain Jack” S. died in Portland, Maine, where he had retired.        He became an oil tanker captain in the mid-1930s and got sober in Alcoholics Anonymous in 1946. He was instrumental in founding what became the Loners Internationalists Meeting and its confidential bulletin, a meeting in print for “Loners,” “Homers,” “Internationalists,” “Port Contacts” (who served as contacts for Internationalists coming to their port city), and “Loner Sponsors.” He and hundreds of Internationalists like him sailed the seven seas, carrying the A.A. message wherever they dropped anchor and playing a key role in A.A.’s phenomenal worldwide growth.

December 27 in A.A. History

Shoemaker

In 1893, Samuel Moor Shoemaker [right] was born in a second-floor front room of a rented house on Read Street in Baltimore, Maryland, to Ellen Ward “Nellie” Whitridge (later president of the Women’s Auxiliary of the Episcopal Diocese of Mary­land) and Samuel Moor Shoemaker, Jr. (later chairman of the Board of Regents of the University of Mary­land), who had met at Emmanuel Church in Baltimore, where Sam’s uncle was rector.
   When Sam was two years old the family would move to their country home, Burnside, about ten miles [~16 km] north of Baltimore. To Sam, throughout his life, this was home. Between 1860–1863, his grandfather had bought the 13 tracts of land, adding up to 467 acres [nearly 2 km²], that was Burnside, a beautiful piece of land nestled between two lines of gently rolling hills in the Green Spring Valley.

   The Rev. Dr. Samuel Shoemaker would become head of the Oxford Group in the United States, as well as rector of Calvary Church in New York City. Shoemaker provided a safe haven for alcoholics. He also ran Calvary Mission, which both "Ebby" T. and Bill W. visited in 1934, and Calvary House, where early A.A. members came for Oxford Group meetings. He formed a close, long-lasting friendship with Bill W., offering guidance and support during A.A.'s formative years. Bill would credit Shoemaker with providing "most of the Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous, steps that express the heart of AA's way of life" and name him as a co-founder (one of many).

December 26 in A.A. History

In 1902, Clarence S. was born at 1280 E. 89th St., Cleveland, Ohio, to Charles and Jenny Patterson S. He was the youngest of three boys. It was a cold, gray winter morning with snow and a brisk wind in the forecast.
    He would sober up in Akron, Ohio on 11 February 1938 and would have a falling out with his sponsor, Dr. Bob S., over trying to do something to make it possible for Catholics to attend A.A. meetings (Catholic priests forbade parishoners from anything to do with the Oxford Group, which Akron A.A. was certainly involved with). When Dr. Bob refused to do anything, on 11 May 1939, Clarence started a new group in Cleveland, naming it the Alcoholics Anonymous Group, after the newly published book. He sought publicity for A.A., which led to very rapid growth; invented the basic idea of sponsorship as we know it; eschewed the Oxford Group; focused on spirituality and avoided religion; emphasized use of the Big Book, Alcoholics Anonymous; and helped create the Cleveland Central Committee, which introduced the concept of rotation.

December 25 in A.A. History

In 1962, Paul H., Esq. [right, 1956], 59, the last surviving member of a prominent Butte, Montana family, died of a heart attack in Memphis, Tennessee. He would be buried three days later in the family mausoleum in Butte.
    His father, Daniel H., founded a department store bearing the family name in Butte. Paul was born in Butte, attended the University of Virginia, was a Rhodes Scholar, studied at Oxford, and became a lawyer. He had survived a botched frontal lobotomy in 1936, sobered up in Washington, D.C., in 1940, and in January 1948 dictated the first known account from memory by Bill W. of how he wrote the Twelve Steps for the Big Book, Alcoholics Anonymous.

 

December 23 in A.A. History

In 1901, Bernard B. Smith was born in the Bronx, New York, the third of four children of Isaac and Fannie Stuzen Smith, both Yiddish-speaking Russian immigrants. He would become a member of the Alcoholic Foundation Board in 1944, Chair of the Board of Trustees for the Alcoholic Foundation (later the General Service Board of Alcoholics Anonymous) from 1951–1956, and 1st Vice President of the General Service Board from 1956 until his death in late July 1970.