May 14 in A.A. History

In 1939, the first A.A. meeting in New Jersey, and the fourth in the world, was held in Upper Montclair.

In 1948. the Long Beach (California) Central Office [right, 1128 Dawson Ave., Apr 2011] opened with 10 known groups at the time. It was listed in the Long Beach Telephone Directory as:

Alcoholics Anonymous Harbor District
1128 Dawson Ave. — Long Beach, California
Telephone number 305-150 [later changed to 905-150]

According to the story, Jack J. grew tired of traveling to Los Angeles whenever they needed something. So he collaborated with the group in Signal Hill to propose the establishment of a Central Office in Long Beach for the mutual benefit of the groups in the Harbor Area.

In 1998. Sybil C. [far left: 1940s; near left: 1961] died just six days shy of her 90th birthday. A former bootlegger, dance hall girl, and the first woman in Alcoholics Anonymous west of the Mississippi, she also served as Long Beach (California) Archivist and the first executive secretary of California A.A. Sybil got sober on 23 March 1941. Having been married several times, she would often begin her later talks by saying, “My name is Sybil Doris Adams Stratton Hart Maxwell Willis C—–, and I’m an alcoholic.”

May 13 in A.A. History

In 1935, the day after first meeting each other, Bill W. and Dr. Bob S. had dinner together.

May 12 in A.A. History

In 1935 , on this Mother’s Day, Bill W. [near right] (age 39) met Dr. Bob S. [far right] (age 55), his wife Anne, and their son Smitty (age 17) at the home of Oxford Group member Henrietta Buckler Seiberling [far left] —the Gate Lodge [near left] of the Stan Hywet estate^*—at 5 p.m.

     Dr. Bob was so badly hungover that he could not eat dinner and planned to stay only 15 minutes. Left alone in the library, Bill told Bob he was not there to help him but to keep himself sober. He then shared his own experience as an alcoholic, as suggested by Dr. Silkworth, i.e., to emphasize the medical hopelessness rather than preach. Dr. Bob opened up, and he and Bill talked until after 11 p.m., extending Dr. Bob’s planned 15 minutes to over 6 hours. As Dr. Bob would say in his story “Doctor Bob’s Nightmare” (included in all four editions of the Big Book, Alcoholics Anonymous ) [emphasis is Dr. Bob’s]:

    … he was the first living human with whom I had ever talked, who knew what he was talking about in regard to alcoholism from actual experience. In other words, he talked my language. He knew all the answers, and certainly not because he had picked them up in his reading

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^*  This was the estate of Franklin Augustus “Frank” Seiberling (1859–1955), co-founder of The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company in 1898 and of the Seiberling Rubber Company in 1921. Estate features include the historic 65-room Tudor Revival Manor House, the Gate Lodge, historic gardens, and the Corbin Conservatory. Frank was father to John Fredrick “Fred” Seiberling (1888–1962), who married Henrietta (1888–1979) in 1917. They separated in 1935, and he moved back into the Manor House; they never divorced.

In 1956, the First Annual A.A. Convention for England and Wales was a two-day event held at the Belle Vue Hotel [right, 1956] in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire. At that time, there were 56 registered English groups at the UK headquarters. Sackville M. and Richard P., both from Ireland, served as speakers at the convention.

May 11 in A.A. History

In 1935, it was Saturday. Bill W. [right], not quite five months sober, stood in the lobby of the Mayflower Hotel in Akron, Ohio. Howard Tompkins of Baer and Company had involved Bill in a complicated proxy fight for control of the National Rubber Machinery Company^* in Akron, which, if successful, could have made Bill president and lifted him and Lois out of their dire financial situation. However, the deal fell through, possibly due to rumors of Bill’s drinking. Dejected and distressed, he returned to the Mayflower Hotel where he had been staying.

    In the lobby, Bill found himself powerfully tempted by the lure of the bar. After a few moments of indecision, he suddenly realized that while his work with alcoholics at Towns Hospital had not helped them achieve sobriety, it had helped him remain sober.^† Turning away from the bar, he approached the public phone in the lobby and began calling ministers listed in a church directory by the phone, seeking someone he could work with. He finally reached Rev. Walter Tunks [left], who connected him with a local member of the Oxford Group, Henrietta Seiberling [right].

    Henrietta had recently begun praying for a particular Oxford Group member who was unable to stop drinking. When Bill introduced himself by saying, “I’m from the Oxford Group, and I’m a rum hound from New York,” Henrietta felt her prayer had been  answered, thinking to herself, “This is really like manna from heaven.” She had been praying for someone who could help Dr. Bob S. [left], a surgeon who had been attending her Oxford Group meetings for two and a half years, struggling unsuccessfully to get sober. She told Bill about this doctor. Although she would have invited them both over for dinner, the doctor was already too drunk to meet anyone that night, so Henrietta made plans for the two men to meet the following evening at her home, the Gate Lodge [right] at Stan Hywet, the Seiberling estate.

---

^* T. Henry Williams—at whose home the Oxford Group that included Henrietta, the doctor, and the doctor’s wife met—had lost his job as Chief Engineer of the National Rubber Machinery Company in a reorganization earlier that spring.
^† There is no basis for believing that it was Lois who pointed this out, as much as many of us would have wanted it that way.

In 1939, the first group to adopt the name “Alcoholics Anonymous” (after the title of the recently published book) met at the home of Albert “Abby” G. [left], located at 2345 Stillman Rd. in Cleveland Heights, Ohio.

    This group would come to be known by various names, including the Cleveland Group, the Stillman Road Group, and the “G” Group. Prior to this meeting, the Cleveland A.A. members had been part of the Akron, Ohio, Oxford Group’s “alcoholic squad,” attending weekly meetings on Wednesdays. During the previous night’s meetin Akron, Clarence S. [right] announced their decision to leave the Akron group and start their own. Clarence later reflected,

    I made the mistake of telling these people the address. They invaded the house and tried to break up our meeting. One fellow was going to whip me. All in the spirit of pure Christian love! But we stood our ground.

May 10 in A.A. History

In 1939, at the regular Wednesday night meeting of the Oxford Group in Akron, Ohio, Clarence S. [right] announced, as he later recounted:

    … that this was the last time the Cleveland [Ohio] bunch was down as a contingent—that we were starting a group in Cleveland that would only be open to alcoholics and their families. Also that we were taking the name from the book Alcoholics Anonymous.
    The roof came off the house. “Clarence, you can’t do this!” someone said.
    “It’s done.”
    “We’ve got to talk about his!”
    “It’s too late,” I said.…
    I made the mistake of telling these people the address.

    Newly sober Albert “Abby” G., [left] a patent attorney from Cleveland, was still in Akron City Hospital, but his wife, Grace, had offered their large home to host the new Cleveland meeting.

In 1946, Searcy W. [right] took his last drink and went on to accumulate 57 years of sobriety before his death on 30 Sep 2003.

In 1969, for Searcy W.’s 23rd anniversary, Bill Wilson gave him a signed copy of his paper promoting vitamin B-3 (niacin) therapy, inscribing it: “For Searcy W. May 10, 1969, Bill W.”

May 9 in A.A. History

In 1882, Silas B. was born in Millersburg, Kentucky, the youngest of three known children of Rev. James McClelland and Sarah Ann “Sallie” Burnam B. He became a journalist, sobered up as A.A. #3 (or 4) in New York City, and wrote an early story about Alcoholics Anonymous titled “There Is Hope” [below], published in the 19 Jan 1939, issue of The Hackettstown (NJ) Courier-Post. He would relapse within a year and died in 1945.

In 1944, at the invitation of Drs. Silkworth and Tiebout, Bill W. gave a talk to the Section on Neurology and Psychiatry at the annual meeting of the Medical Society of the State of New York.

    In 1949, this talk, along with another presented to the American Psychiatric Association, was published as a pamphlet titled “Alcoholism the Illness.” Later, a third talk on alcoholism given by Bill to the New York City Medical Society in 1958 was included, and the pamphlet was retitled “Three Talks to Medical Societies by Bill W.” [left]. This pamphlet was “retired” by a General Service Conference Advisory Action in 2017, as the committee deemed the content “dated” and “not helpful for today’s communication about A.A.”

May 8 in A.A. History

In 1935, five hundred sober alcoholics gathered in Akron, Ohio, to celebrate the 8th anniversary^* of A.A.’s first group, which Bill W. referred to as “Akron Number One” and is now known as “King School Group #1.” After splitting from the Oxford Group in Dec 1939, the A.A. group initially met a few times at Dr. Bob S.’s home before relocating to the King School [right] in Jan 1940, where it remained for many years, possibly until the building closed in 2018.

---

^* The official founding date was 4 Jul 1935, the day Bill D., A.A. #3, was discharged from Akron City Hospital. 

 

In 1971, after a church memorial service [left: white-haired Lois, front right], Bill W. was buried [right: gravesite] in a private ceremony at East Dorset Cemetery in East Dorset, Vermont. Bill had always wanted to be buried there with his family, so his body was kept in cold storage in Miami, Florida, inside a Vermont oak casket until the New England ground thawed enough for the burial.

May 7 in A.A. History

In 1946, the Seafarers Log, the official organ of the Atlantic and Gulf Region of the Seafarers International Union of North America, published an article titled “AA Fights Alcoholism As Disease” [right]. This article references the Alcoholics Anonymous Seamen’s Club located at 334½ W. 24th St. in New York City, as well as their pamphlet “For Seamen Who Drink” and their newsletter “The Ropeyarn.”

 

In 1973, in an episode titled “Alcoholic Women,” David Susskind interviewed five women who were members of A.A. on his television program, The David Susskind Show[left: interviewing a Mafia hit man, 1973].

In 1994, the AA Flanders National Congress [far right: program cover] was held in Ypres, Belgium [near right: view of the Cloth hall and City hall at the Grote market of Ypres]. Here is a rough translation of the program cover:

MAY 7, 1994 / Start at 10:00 a.m. / DIET^* [of] ANONYMOUS ALCOHOLISTS / WESTHOEK - EXPO HALLS / YPRES / AA: “E”VERYTHING “E”LSE

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^* LANDDAG literally means country day or country assembly; a diet is a formal deliberative assembly.

May 6 in A.A. History

In 1896, Gilbert “Gib” K. was born in Germania, Wisconsin. He would found the first A.A. group in Milwaukee.

In 1939, Clarence S. [left], concerned about the challenges faced by Catholic alcoholics with the Oxford Group, approached Dr. Bob S. [right], his sponsor, regarding this issue (not for the first time).

Dr. Bob:	“What do you have in mind?”
Clarence:	“To start a group without all this rigmarole that’s offensive to other people. We have a book now, the Steps, the absolutes. Anyone can live by that program. We can start our own meetings.”
Dr. Bob:	(referring to OG members, especially to Henrietta Seiberling, and to T. Henry and Clarace Williams) “We can’t abandon these people. We owe our lives to them.”
Clarence:	“So what? I owe my life to them, too. But what about all these others?”, referring to Catholic A.A. members.
Dr. Bob:	“We can’t do anything about them.”
Clarence:	“Oh yes, we can.”
Dr. Bob:	“Like what?”
Clarence:	“You’ll see.”

Less than a week later, Clarence started the first group in Cleveland, Ohio, which is usually considered the third A.A. group anywhere. It was also the first group to adopt the name “Alcoholics Anonymous,” after the book published the previous month.

In 1941, in the Twin City of St. Paul, Minnesota, the first A.A. meeting was held in the home of Dr. Glenn Clark [left], a non-alcoholic professor at Macalester College. After reading Jack Alexander’s article in The Saturday Evening Post, Dr. Clark wanted to help a friend struggling with alcoholism. A local story in the St. Paul Pioneer Press published a few weeks later further boosted membership to 15, including the first woman.

May 5 in A.A. History

In 1940, Washington, D.C.’s The Sunday Star published Robert A. Erwin’s article [right], “Victims of Alcohol Hold Weekly Meetings to Aid One Another in Overcoming Weakness for Drink,” which favorably reported on the first A.A. group formed in the District of Columbia: the Washington Group.

    John Fitzhugh “Fitz” M. [left] was one of Bill W.’s successes at Charles B. Towns Hospital in 1935. Although he lived in Cumberstone, Maryland, he spent much of his early sobriety in New York City, making the long trip from home to attend A.A. meetings at Bill’s home in Brooklyn.

    In 1939, Fitz had moved to Washington, D.C., where he immediately contacted Hardin C., who had reached out to the Alcoholic Foun­dation in New York City, and whose information had been forwarded to Fitz. They began meeting at Hardin’s apartment and soon recruited Ned F., who had also gotten sober in New York City, a retired Navy Commander from  California, and others. Their first female member, Dorothy H., joined the following year. James “Jim” B. [right] of Philadelphia was a significant help to the D.C. members. He considered the weekly meetings at Philadelphia General Hospital essential to the success of the Philadelphia group and urged the D.C. group to work with alcoholics in the Psychopath Ward at Gallinger Municipal Hospital [left]. He also introduced the practice of serving coffee and doughnuts at meetings.

    The D.C. members revisited the discussion that had taken place in New York City between Jim and Fitz regarding the references to God in the Big Book, with Jim emphasizing the psychological approach and Fitz focusing on the religious aspect.
    The Sunday Star article attracted many new members, and by the end of the year, the group had reached 70 members.

May 4 in A.A. History

In 1940, the first A.A. group in Washington, D.C., held its inaugural meeting. Fitz M. [right] is traditionally recognized as the founder of Alcoholics Anonymous in the Washington area. Along with Ned F., he brought the A.A. experience they had gained from the established New York City group to this region, helping alcoholics stay sober even before 1939. During that first year, their efforts, along with those of several other alcoholics, shaped the group into what it would ultimately become.

In 1946, Marty M. [left] “explained Alcoholics Anonymous and the work of the National Committee for Education on Alcoholism [NCEA]” during Gabriel Heatter’s nationwide radio show, We the People. She was interviewed by Milo Boulton [right]. What follows are excerpts from the transcript:

MB:    The story of the young lady who is beside me now at our microphone, can be told in just seven words. I want her to repeat those seven words for you.
MM:    For ten years, I was an alcoholic.…
MB:    Mrs. M—–, it seems incredible that a young and beautiful woman like you should have once been an alcoholic.
MM:    Mr. Boulton, I still am an alcoholic.
MB:     But—I thought you'd been cured.
MM:    Oh, no. You must realize that alcoholism is a disease—a disease which today is as prevalent as tuberculosis or cancer. My illness has been arrested, and I think and hope it will stay that way, but people like me can never safely touch alcohol again, so we can never say we're cured.…
MB:    Well, then—I assume that Alcoholics Anonymous is responsible for your rehabilitation.
MM:    Indeed they are. They didn't lecture me, or look down on me, or make me sign a pledge. They did advise me to promise myself that I would not drink for 24 hours, and when the 24 hours were past, to make myself another promise. They taught me to live without alcohol.… We want the public to realize drunks shouldn't be jailed, but sent to hospitals--because a drunk is as sick as a man with a mortal disease. But he can, with proper treatment, become a useful citizen. I am proof of that. And I am devoting all my energies to aid those who are afflicted with this dread disease.

In 1983, Carlton Turner, director of the Drug Abuse Policy Office during President Ronald Reagan's administration, responded [left] to a letter from Raymond M., an A.A. member from Grandville, Michigan, which he had written six days earlier:

THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
May 4, 1983

Dear Mr. Materson:
    Thank you for your letter of April 28, 1983 and for forwarding me a copy of your story "There's A Long-Distance Loneliness…"
    Many people have given a great deal of time and energy to helping others overcome the serious problems of alcohol and drug abuse. Thank you for all you have done and for sharing your most touching story.
    Please let us know if this office can be of any assistance. Best regards.

           Sincerely,
<signature>
Carlton E. Turner, Ph.D.
Special Assistant to the President
for Drug Abuse Policy

Mr. Raymond E. Materson
2741 Donna, s.w.
Grandville, MI 4941

In 1986, Ruth (Hock) Crecelius [right, holding the five millionth copy of A.A.’s Big Book], 74, died of cancer in Washington, Ohio.
    In July 1985, Ruth had attended the 50th anniversary International Convention of Alcoholics Anonymous in Montreal, Quebec, with her daughter, Laurie. At this event, she received the 5,000,000th copy of the Big Book, Alcoholics Anonymous, the first edition of which she had transcribed from Bill W’s dictation.
    During this time, she began to feel unwell but convinced her family and friends that she was fine. Later that year, she sold the family home and retired from her job. In January, she was diagnosed with cancer and passed away four months later.
    From 1937 to 1942, Ruth served as Bill’s nonalcoholic secretary, answering thousands of letters inquiring about the new organization for alcoholics following the publication of Jack Alexander’s article in The Saturday Evening Post. Her numerous trips to assist fledgling groups earned her the title “Flying Ambassadress of AA.”

May 3 in A.A. History

In 1943, The Democrat and Chronicle of Rochester, New York, published an unattributed article [right] titled "Anonymous Group Holds First Dinner." It described the first annual A.A. dinner, held at the Hotel Seneca [left, c. 1940s] and attended by sixty people.

May 2 in A.A. History

In 1856, Matt Talbot [left: only known photo] was born in Dublin, Ireland.

In 1935, in the wake of Prohibition’s failure, Everett Colby [right] hosted a dinner in New York City to seek funding from the “drys” for his educational program promoting temperate drinking, called “The Council for Moderation.” In his book Alcoholics Anonymous and the Rockefeller Connection, Jay D. Moore says,

    The dinner was… educa­tional in nature, luminaries made presentations… and the invitees included a who’s who of American power… In fact, perusing the list of those who attended the dinner one finds many of the names that at­tended the dinner for Alcoholics Anonymous.

    According to Moore, the refusal of John D. Rockefeller, Jr [left] to fund this project, proposed by his college roommate at Brown University, illustrates…

    that his self-imposed philanthropic limits were invio­late… The Colby dinner draws a parallel to the 1940 AA Rockefeller dinner that cannot be brushed off. The similarities are unmistakable…

In 1943, in New Orleans, Louisiana, The Times-Picayune reported that the first A.A. group in the city was being formed:

    Organization of a New Orleans chapter of Alcoholics Anonymous [is] underway with a nucleus of more than a dozen members, part of a unique group of more than 8000 men and women in the United States that have banded together to fight the disease of alcoholism.

May 1 in A.A. History

In 1939, the mortgage on 182 Clinton St. [right: living room] in Brooklyn was foreclosed. Five days earlier, Lois and Bill W. had moved in with Hank and Kathleen P. at 344 N. Fullerton Ave. in Montclair, New Jersey.

In 1944, A.A.’s New York City headquarters, known today as the General Service Office (GSO), relocated from 30 Vesey St. to a three-room office at 415 Lexington Ave., directly across from Grand Central Station.

May 1–7

In 2008, at the 58th General Service Conference, held at the Crowne Plaza Times Square [left: view from an upper floor] in New York City, the following were among the advisory actions: that…

• trustees’ Finance and Budgetary Committee gather input from the Fellowship on the benefits and liabilities, both spiritual and practical, of fully funding G.S.O. services to the Fellowship (G.S.O. functional expenses) by the voluntary contributions of A.A. members and groups;
• the Online Intergroup of A.A. (OIAA) be listed in a new section titled “Online Intergroups” under the section “International Correspondence Meetings” in the A.A. Directories above where “Online Meetings” appear; and
• the amendments to the 2007 General Service Board Bylaws, as forwarded from the General Service Board to include options for interim changes to member trustee ratio and composition in response to the 2007 Advisory Action, which instituted consideration of all eligible Class A and Class B trustees when selecting the chairperson of the General Service Board be approved.

April 30 in A.A. History

April 30–May 6

In 1995, at the 45th General Service Conference, held at the Holiday Inn Crowne Plaza in New York City, the following were among the advisory actions: that…

• based on an expressed need, a Spanish edition of the Grapevine be produced, contingent on [certain conditions] for up to five (5) years… If, after five (5) years, the Spanish edition of the magazine is determined to be no longer feasible, publication be discontinued;
• changes in “The A.A. Group” pamphlet be implemented…;
• a pocket edition of the Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions be published;
• simultaneous translation be made available at future General Service Conferences;
• a second delegate be admitted from Washington Area (Area 72);
• each Conference will determine… whether or not that… Conference will be smoking or non-smoking; and
• after a thorough examination of the issues… and acknowledging that there may have been problems with communication at many service levels in the past, it was the sense of the committee that there has been improvement and, therefore, in the interest of maintaining A.A. unity and finding there was not sufficient cause, the committee unanimously recommended that the proposal to censure the General Service Board be dismissed.

In 2000 , at the 50th General Service Conference, held at the Crowne Plaza Manhattan in New York City, the following were among the advisory actions: that…

• Southern California Area 05 be granted an additional delegate area; and
• a draft copy of the Fourth Edition of the Big Book, Alcoholics Anonymous,… be brought to the 2001 Conference Literature Committee, keeping in mind that if a Fourth Edition Big Book is published, it will require Conference approval and the 1995 Advisory Action that: “The first 164 pages of the Big Book, Alcoholics Anonymous, the Preface, the Forewords, ‘The Doctor's Opinion,’ ‘Dr. Bob's Nightmare,’ and the Appendices remain as is.”

April 29 in A.A. History

In 1998 [April 30?], Sybil C. [right], a former bootlegger, dance-hall girl, Long Beach (California) A.A. archivist, and the first executive secretary for California A.A., died in Los Angeles, California, just 21 days before her 90th birthday. She had been sober since 23 Mar 1941 and was the first woman to join A.A. west of the Mississippi River. In later talks, she introduced herself by saying, “My name is Sybil Doris Adams Stratton Hart Maxwell Willis C., and I’m an alcoholic.”

April 28 in A.A. History

In 1983, Raymond M., an A.A. member from Grandville, Michigan, wrote to Mr. Carlton Turner [right], the director of the Drug Abuse Policy Office during President Ronald Reagan’s administration, enclosing his personal story:

RAYMOND E. M▓▓▓▓▓▓▓
2714 Donna, S.W.
Grandville, MI 49418

            April 28, 1983

Mr. Carlton Turner
THE WHITE HOUSE
Washington, D.C. 20001

Dear Mr. Turner:

    Alcoholics Anonymous, as you know, is a bi-partisan organization numbering in the millions. Members include men and women, young and old, from all walks of life. The work they do, which is almost entirely on a voluntary basis, is an inspiration and a powerful statement of what can be accomplished through simple human kindness and concern.
    I am enclosing and forwarding to you a story I have written which displays the spirit of A.A. I hope you will find it interesting and inspirational. Without the splendid help these people and others in the field of substance abuse perform, this world, certainly this country, would not be as well off as it is. As an A.A. member myself, I am proud to be able to make this statement.
    Thank you for your kind attention and continued support of A.A.

Sincerely,

 <signature>

         Raymond E. M▓▓▓▓▓▓▓

REM:m
enc.

April 27 in A.A. History

In 1942, three of Dr. Kirby Collier’s alcoholic patients begin holding A.A. meetings in the lower right apartment at 192 N. Goodman St. [right] in Rochester, New York. This was the first A.A. meeting in Rochester.

April 27–May 3

In 2003, at the 53rd General Service Conference, held at the Crowne Plaza Manhattan in New York City, the following were among the advisory actions: that…

• the trial period [started at this Conference] for use of laptops at the General Service Conference be extended through the 54th General Service Conference;
• a draft Introduction to… Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions be developed;
• the trustees’ Literature Committee initiate a comprehensive review of “The A.A. Group;” and
• development of a Third Edition of Alcohólicos Anónimos be approved.

In 2008, at the 58th General Service Conference, held at the Crowne Plaza Times Square in New York City, the following was among the advisory actions: that…

• the Online Intergroup of A.A. (OIAA) be listed in a new section titled “Online Intergroups” under the section “International Correspondence Meetings” in the A.A. “Online Directories” above where “Meetings” appear.

In 2014, at the 64th General Service Conference, held at the Hilton Westchester in Rye Brook, New York, the following were among the advisory actions: that…

• a plan be created by the General Service Office to translate Conference material (background material, Conference Manual, etc.) into French and Spanish for use during the Conference;
• the pamphlet on spirituality with the title “Many Paths to Spirituality” be approved;
• during a two-year trial period[, in 2015 and 2016,] the General Service Conference include one day of electronic voting on all nonelection [sic] votes;
• [add] to the Glossary of General Service Terms [in] The AA. Service Manual:
  
  “Advisory Action—Represents the informed group conscience of the Fellowship, as the result of a recommendation made by a Conference committee or a floor action, which has been approved by the Conference body as a whole;” and
  “Additional Committee Consideration—An item that was discussed by a Conference committee, but with no action taken or made by the Conference as a whole.”

April 26 in A.A. History

In 1939, Bill and Lois W. were forced to leave their home at 182 Clinton St. [right, c. 1940] in Brooklyn, where they had lived since Lois’s father remarried and moved out in May 1933, shortly after Lois’s mother’s death. The bank held a mortgage but, preferring to have the property occupied rather than empty, allowed the W.s to stay on a month-to-month basis for less than the monthly mortgage—specifically, a “nominal” payment of $20 [~$460 in 2025]. With the Great Depression loosening its grip, foreclosure restrictions had eased, allowing the bank to foreclose and sell the building. This was a difficult blow for Lois, as it was her childhood home.
    They had no place to keep their belongings, so most went into storage. As Bill later remarked, “There wasn’t enough money to even get our goods into storage. We had to go on the cuff [on credit] with the drayman [wagon driver].”
    With nowhere to live, Bill and Lois moved in with Hank and Kathleen P. in Montclair, New Jersey. Lois’s terse diary entry reads, “Left 182 for good. Went to P—–s [sic].” This would be just the first of over 50 temporary homes they would inhabit over the next two years.
    In her memoir, Lois Remembers, Lois noted that “soon after we left Clinton Street, Hank and Kathleen started holding Sunday meetings at their new home”—a sign that the A.A. movement was still alive and growing, even though Bill remarked of their ouster, “So climaxed four years of Alcoholics Anonymous.”
    A few days later, Bill and Lois moved again, this time to a remote bungalow in rural Green Pond, New Jersey. Lois's diary entries—many included in her memoir—suggest that this stay was one of her happiest times during Bill's first five years of sobriety.

In 1958, the first International Convention of Young People in Alcoholics Anonymous (ICYPAA) opened at the Hotel Niagara  [left] in Niagara Falls, New York. The A.A. Exchange Bulletin (precursor to Box 4-5-9) explained that the purpose of ICYPAA was…

    to provide delegates with a thorough rundown of the application of our A.A. program to the individual difficulties encountered by young people in dealing not only with alcoholism but also with the other problems peculiar to their generation.

In 1959, This Week published “Don’t Tell Me I’m Not an Alcoholic” [right: first 2 pages] by John Boit Morse, as told to Arthur Gor­don.

In 1986, Bob P. [left] delivered a farewell address at the closing brunch of the 36th General Service Conference (GSC) at the Hotel Roosevelt in New York City. The occasion was significant, as he was nearing retirement and this would be his final GSC. The Final Report described it as “a powerful and inspiring closing talk titled ‘Our greatest danger: rigidity.’” He said, in part,

    If you were to ask me what is the greatest danger facing A.A. today, I would have to answer: the growing rigidity… 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…

April 26–May 2

In 1981, at the 31st General Service Conference, held at the Roosevelt Hotel in New York City, the following were among the advisory actions:

• All future events such as the International Convention not be planned to operate on a deficit basis, and it was also recommended that all future events of this type be self-supporting.
• The suggestion to publish a pamphlet for the homosexual alcoholic be tabled [to] 1982.
• A footnote be added to Tradition Eight in the book “Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions,” page 169, to update the job description of present-day G.S.O. staff members. The suggested footnote to read: [Their work has no counterpart in commercial organizations.]
• [That] “The AA. Service Manual” and “Twelve Concepts for World Service” be combined.

In 1987, at the 37th General Service Conference, held at the Roosevelt Hotel in New York City, there were two significant sets of presentations by Area Delegates addressing internal concerns that had arisen out of the 36th GSC, with discussion following. The first included two talks by Area delegates:

1. “The Right of Decision Makes Effective Leadership Possible (Concept III),” which said, in part:

       At last year’s Conference there seemed to be some doubt or feeling of unrest about… the trustee's report on the… Conference Committee. The scope of the Conference… Committee is to review and approve the agenda… make recommendations to the Conference for approval, disapproval, or amendment…

2. “The Principle of Mutual Trust (Tradition Two),” which said, in part:

        [Let us] reflect upon why we… have presentations at Conference after Conference questioning the trust or lack of trust between the different levels of A.A. service… It may… suggest that we are all to quick to become guarded or to doubt. Both… contribute to mistrust. Perhaps it is time for us… to be open with one another…

    The second set presentations, “The Use of Surveys in Making Conference Decisions,” included three talks, two by Area delegates and the third by a Class B trustee: 

1. "PRO—Don't Surveys Help Take the Pulse of the FeIlowship?,"
2. "CON—Surveys Don't Help in Making Conference Decisions," and
3. "How Can Survey's be Utilized?" 

    These grew out of criticism that the Conference may be avoiding its responsibility by recommending surveys of the membership to determine whether or not we should, for example, publish a soft-cover format of the Big Book or a daily reflections book.

April 26–May 3

In 2009, at the 59th General Service Conference, held at the Crowne Plaza Times Square in New York City, the following were among the advisory actions: that…

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• the revised draft pamphlet, “For the Native North American,” be pproved;
• the trustees' Literature Committee undertake a through review of the pamphlet, “Questions and Answers on Sponsorship,” and eliminate or revise outmoded ethnic. cultural and vocational references;
• the title of the pamphlet, “44 Questions,” be changed to “Frequently Asked Questions About A.A.;”
• the General Service Board develop a procedure for the submission of Concept V minority appeals to the General Service Conference;
• all changes to The A.A. Service Manual combined with Twelve Concepts for World Service be listed in the edition in which the changes appear for the first time, and organized by source of change (General Service Board, Conference Advisory Action, Conference Committee on Report & Charter,Publications Department), [and] Conference Advisory Actions will be noted by vertical margin change bars in the edition in which the change appears for the first time; and
• we develop Conference-approved literature that focuses on spirituality and includes stories from atheists and agnostics who are successfully sober in Alcoholics Anonymous.