November 15 in A.A. History

In 1952 , a memorial service for Dr. Bob S. was held at the 24th Street Clubhouse [right: interior] in New York City. A recording of his last talk was played, and a portrait of him was unveiled. Bill W. then addressed the gathering, beginning with the words:

    Dr. Bob’s recorded voice has come down to us across the air since he died in 1950. Some may say that his actual voice is still forever, but you and I know that is not so and that his spirit will be with us so long as this well loved society of ours endures. Now, I happen to be one who believes that people never die, that on beyond death there is another life and it could be that Dr. Bob is looking down upon us now, seeing us, hearing what we say and feel and think and have done in this meeting. I know his heart will be glad.
    Dr. Bob was a chap who was modestly and singularly against taking any personal acclaim or honor but surely now that he is no longer with us he can’t mind, I don’t believe and for him I wish to thank everyone here who has made this occasion possible and the unveiling possible, with all the work and love that that has entailed. Again, I wish to thank each and everyone.

In 1960, Bill W. wrote to Howard C. explaining why A.A. rejected the Oxford Group. He specifically cited its emphasis on the Four Absolutes [left: cover of The Principles of Jesus, by Robert E. Speer, in which the Four Absolutes were first described]:

    … As you so well understand, we drunks are all-or-nothing people.
    In the old days of the Oxford Groups [sic], they were forever talking about the Four Absolutes—Honesty, Purity, Unselfishness, and Love. There we saw people going broke on this sort of perfection—trying to get too good by Thursday.
    … There is another factor, too, which perhaps you have overlooked.
Absolutes in themselves are not necessarily destructive. Every sound theological system contains them. When we say that our destiny is to grow in the likeness and image of God, we are stating a healthy relation between a relative and an absolute state of affairs. Therefore when writing the Twelve Steps, it was necessary to include some sort of absolute value or else they wouldn’t have been theologically sound.…The could have been unfortunate. However, we couldn’t make them as promising and as misleading as we found them in the Oxford Group emphasis. So in Step Six and Seven, and in the use of the word God, we did include them.

In 1967, with the approval of the General Service Board, Bill W. sent a letter proposing a “World Service Meeting” to representatives from 13 countries and zones:

Australia	Belgium	Central America	Finland	France	Germany	Holland*
Mexico	New Zealand	Norway	South Africa	South America	United Kingdom

    The letter said, in part:

    … I am proposing that A.A. take first steps toward forming a world service conference. The time will come when our overseas population may well exceed that of the United States and Canada.…
    There are many problems of growth and relations that call for an international exchange of experiences. The problems of public relations, of anonymity, of self-support, of relations with medicine and religion—these are all keenly felt in many A.A. countries. The problem of printing and distributing literature is another one that can best be solved by exchange of experiences and policies.
    … I propose a World Service Meeting—not a conference, since it would not be fully representative of world A.A. This meeting could be held in New York so that delegates would have access to the experience of staff members and board members, and delegates would have the opportunity of seeing a 30-year-old service office at work.…

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^*I believe Bill was referring to the Netherlands, since Holland is defined as only two of twelve provinces in the Netherlands.

November 14 in A.A. History

In 1939, New York City A.A. members, spouses and at least one non-alcoholic Trustee—more than 50 in all^*—sign a letter to Bill W.:

    We all know that, like the rest of us, you are confronted with the necessity of making a living… We feel that we owe a debt to you which can be measured only in terms of life itself and therefore, perhaps, it is hardly appropriate that we should ask that you to continue to make the sacrifices which you have in the past for the benefit of ourselves and others yet unknown. Yet we ask you, if you find it possible to do so, to continue for the benefit of ourselves and others yet unknown. Yet we ask you, 
    if you find it possible to do so, to continue for a time with the work of Alcoholics Anonymous. We feel that the loss of your guidance at this most critical period in the development of the movement would be nothing less than a major catastrophe. On our own part, we pledge ourselves to do whatever we can in every way to help you carry the load.

^*Including Jimmy B., Bert T., Morgan R., Tom B., and Leonard V. Harrison [right, respectively]

In 1940, the Alcoholic Foundation office in New York City mailed the first issue of the A.A. Bulletin to groups to inform them of important events. Bulletin #1 included a list of cities [left] categorized by the color of pins (or “stars”) used to mark them on a large office wall map.

    Twenty-two cities were classified as White Star (indicating well-established groups), five as Red Star (indicating several members who were just beginning), and sixteen as Green Star (indicating isolated members). Less than 5½ years after its founding, Alcoholics Anonymous had expanded to 43 cities and 1,400 members in the United States.

	In 1943, at an open meeting at Veterans’ Theater [right] in Los Angeles, California, Bill W. told 600 attendees (the theater seated up to 1,526) how Alcoholics Anonymous had enabled 10,000 alcoholics to recover. The Los Angeles Times reported [left] on the event the next day.

In 1945, Bill W. wrote to Rev. Sam D., co-founder of A.A. in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1941. At that time, Sam was living in Rome, Georgia, and Bill sought his assistance in stopping Carl K. from misrepresenting Alcoholics Anonymous and creating significant controversy. Carl was the editor of his own magazine, The Empty Jug [right: September 1945 issue, p. 1], at which Sam had been designated Associate Editor and contributed a column titled “Sam Talks Sense.” Bill praised Sam’s column but noted that it was “completely surrounded by a whole page of hate,” adding that Carl had engaged in a “50 round bout with demons of the liquor industry.” Bill emphasized the importance of avoiding topics related to “politics, religion, and reform.”
    In the June 1945 issue of The Empty Jug, a section titled “The Editor’s Personal Column” featured an article by Carl called “Let’s Get Untangled,” which read, in part:

    [T]he liquor interests are guilty of misrepresentation in advertising and… they are not putting up a fair fight.…
    Through the power of suggestion in attractive settings, the liquor interests are influencing the subconscious minds of children into forming opinions that are disastrously incomplete—in this instance a malicious ulterior and purposeful practice no less contemptible than Japan’s stab in the back at Pearl Harbor.

    Karl would republish this same article in October 1945, which apparently caught Bill’s attention shortly afterward.

November 13 in A.A. History

In 1939, Charles B. Towns [near right], owner of Towns Hospital [far right], where Bill W. [left] had gotten sober and was now helping other alcoholics without charge, offered Bill a job as a “lay therapist” for $700 a month [~$16,300 in 2025]. Stunned, Bill told Charlie he would have an answer the next morning.
    On the subway ride back to Clinton St., he began mentally preparing a speech to deliver the news at that night’s A.A. meeting. What seemed a very appropriate phrase came to him: “Laborers are worthy of their hire.” At the meeting, he presented the facts of Charlie’s offer and then began to outline the implications. 
    Suddenly, he realized he was speaking to impassive faces that just stared up at him. After a while, his voice trailed off. As he paused, an old-timer raised his hand. He was sure he spoke for the others, he said. He admitted they were worried about Bill’s finances and knew something had to be done. But what Bill was suggesting didn’t seem right; he foresaw complications. Others began to speak, with kindness, with apparent understanding of what this offer meant. They all agreed. They spoke as a body. And they were articulate about the nature of the problems they foresaw. 
    Finally, a short, stocky man who hadn’t been with them long stood up. He wanted to appeal to Bill, he said, and to something he didn’t have the words to describe. It was the “thing” that bound them together, one to another, and he knew that if groups like theirs were to exist and continue, that thing simply had to prevail. Bill himself had told them that the good is often the enemy of the best. What Bill was proposing just wasn’t good enough. Others spoke up. Their points were clear and well taken, and Bill knew—or sensed before he knew—that they were right. Still, he kept hammering home his position. 
    And then, abruptly, he stopped. There were to be no bosses in a group. The only authority would be the group conscience, and all decisions would be made by the group. This was something he and Bob had talked about from the beginning. They had exchanged endless letters on the subject. Now he, Bill Wilson, was being asked to put this belief into practice.
    In the morning, he called Charlie Towns and told him he couldn’t accept the offer.

In 1941 , Clarence “C.C.” A.^* led the first A.A. meeting in Columbus, Ohio. Before that, Rev. Floyd a non-alcoholic pastor of the Broad Street Church of Christ, had hosted a daily radio show to “help people find a spiritual way of living… and surmount problems… in their daily lives…” A parishioner showed him an article about A.A. in a medical journal that included contact information. Faust recalled, “I wrote to all ten contacts, praying for an answer from one. To my surprise, I received a response from all ten!” One of those responses was from C.C., who traveled all the way from Cleveland, Ohio, to meet with Faust and “six individuals with alcohol problems” at Ohio’s State Fair [near right: entrance; far right: student ticket] in August. Faust began announcing on his radio program that there was “help for anyone who had a drinking problem… if they wanted help,” and within three months, Columbus had its first A.A. meeting.

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^*There is some evidence that Clarence S., founder of the first group in Cleveland, used the name “C.C. A.” at times.

November 12 in A.A. History

In 1918, Bill W. returned with Battery C, 66th Artillery, Coast Artillery Corps (C.A.C.), possibly from the St. Mihiel sector in France [right, 5 Jan 1919], to its station at La Courtine. At the time of the Armistice, its condition was described as “about ready to go on the line.”

In 1940, Paddy K. held the first A.A. meeting in Boston, Massachusetts, at the Jacoby Club, thereby establishing a connection between A.A. and the club. The Jacoby Club had been founded by Ernest Jacoby [left, 1913] in 1909; it had broken away from the Emmanuel Movement in 1913 and had incorporated separately. Its motto was “A club for men to help themselves by helping others.” There were no membership dues, and the only requirement for membership was “an expressed desire to lead an honorable life and a willingness to aid other men less fortunate.” The club attracted many alcoholics; however, Paddy’s group did not last, and the first permanent A.A. group in Boston was formed in March 1941.

    Bill W. later remarked of Paddy, 

    [He] could never get sober himself and finally died of alcoholism. He was just too sick to make it. Slip followed slip, but he came back each time to carry A.A.’s message, at which he was amazingly successful… 

In 1941, The Fresno (California) Bee published an article on page 15 titled “Alcoholics Anonymous Forms Local Unit” [right]. The article reported that three “well known” local men

    … to whom the liquor drinking habit has become a problem have announced the formation of the Fresno Chapter of Alcoholics Anonymous, a nation wide organization established to aid alcoholics.
    [A.A.]… is a volunteer non profit organization of former alcoholics who have banded together to help each other and to assist the ‘problem’ drinker in overcoming the liquor habit.

    The article notes the publicity A.A. received in March from The Saturday Evening Post article, “The Drunkard’s Best Friend,” by Jack Alexander (without identifying the magazine, article, or its author). It says that this small group is

    … seeking additional members who have the guarantee that any contact with the group will remain a secret within the organization. To further protect any applicant for membership from notoriety the group has rented Box 101 in the Fresno Postoffice [sic] to which alcoholics desiring help or seeking to join… may write.…    

    Abiding by the rules of the national organization the local members stand ready to aid any alcoholic at any time of the day or night.

    Confirmed drinkers have been invited to write a letter to the local group outlining their individual problems. 

In 1958, Fred Coe [far left], producer of the CBS Playhouse 90 teleplay “Days of Wine and Roses” (starring Cliff Robertson, Piper Laurie, and Charles Bickford), wrote to Leonard V. Strong [near left], Chairman of the Alcoholic Foundation Board, thanking him for

    … the help and advice that your New York organization of Alcoholics Anonymous gave to our production… and a deep bow to Miss Eve Marsh [GSO staff and secretary of the 1958 General Service Conference], whose advice to the writer, director, and actors was so helpful. ‘The Days of Wine and Roses’ received the largest mail, telephone, and telegram response of any program presented on PLAYHOUSE 90, and I feel that your association should certainly receive a large share of the praise.

November 11 in A.A. History

In 1918, World War I (then known as the Great War) officially ended at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month (Central European Time). Known as Armistice Day—or Remembrance Day in the British Commonwealth—the U.S. rededicated it in 1954 to honor all veterans and renamed it Veterans Day.

In 1932, Let’s Operate [far left: cover] by Dr. Roy H. McKay [near left] and Norman Beasley was published. A review in the Journal of the American Medical Association read:

    It is simple, indeed, for any medical author to exploit the mistakes of his confrères and to exaggerate the evidence of unnecessary operations, fee splitting and other weaknesses that have on occasion been apparent in medical practice. This volume is apparently a journalistic tour de force. Dr. McKay got important newspaper publicity when he first emphasized these facts and was apparently induced by the publishers to expand his original remarks into a book. This review is written some months after the book was first published, and the indications seem to be that as a sensation the book fell somewhat flat.

    McKay would be one of Bill W. and Dr. Bob S.’s early failures in June 1935, before they met Bill D.; thus McKay missed his chance to become A.A. #3. He would die before the end of 1936.

In 1934, the stock market was closed in observance of Armistice Day, but Lois had to work, so Bill W. decided to play golf on Staten Island, likely at Silver Lake Golf Course [right, 20 Apr 1930]. He took the subway to Lower Manhattan, the ferry to Staten Island, and a bus south to the course. On the bus, Bill struck up a conversation with the man next to him, who was carrying a rifle. The man told Bill he was going target shooting at a range beyond the golf course. While they were talking, another bus collided with theirs; fortunately, no one was hurt, but the passengers had to wait for a replacement bus.
    Bill’s companion suggested they wait at a nearby bar. He ordered scotch, while Bill ordered ginger ale. When asked why he wasn’t drinking, Bill launched into a lengthy account of Silkworth’s theory of alcoholism and his own history with alcohol, declaring that he could never drink another drop again.
    When the replacement bus arrived, they resumed their journey. The bus reached the golf course around noon, and Bill’s friend, who needed to change buses, proposed they stop for lunch at a nearby place. Bill ordered ginger ale with his sandwiches, while his friend again ordered scotch.
    Bill fell into a reverie about his first Armistice Day, celebrated in a small French town. Just then, the bartender offered each of them an Armistice Day Scotch, on the house. Bill immediately took his and downed it. His astonished friend exclaimed, “You must be crazy!” Bill assured him that he was. The friend went on to the shooting range while Bill continued to drink.
    Somehow, Bill found his way to the golf course. However, he kept drinking and played so recklessly that he was kicked out. He came home at 5 a.m., so drunk that he fell into the entryway under the stairs and gashed his head. Lois, who had been up all night worrying, rushed downstairs when she heard the noise. Bill was on the floor, unconscious and bleeding profusely. As a result, Lois began looking for a sanitarium for Bill. This binge would last a month.

In 1939, Bill and Lois W. visited Clarence S. [left] in Cleveland, Ohio. Clarence had started the first A.A. group there in May.

In 1940, A.A. came to Minnesota. In 1996, Alf S. would recall how it had happened:

    Chan F. from Chicago… shared it [the message] with Pat C. [near right] during that horrible Armistice Day blizzard [far right: scene in Minneapolis during this blizzard]. Chan and another A.A. [Bill F.] came to Minneapolis to attend a Minnesota Gopher football game. I was at that same football game, drunk… [M]onths earlier, Chan had received a letter from Bill W—– typed by… Ruth Hock. A month or so earlier, Pat had gone into the Minneapolis library to stay warm, found the book “Alcoholics Anonymous”…; wrote a letter to NY asking for help. The letter Chan received asked him to call on Pat if he ever was in Minneapolis.… I can visualize Pat freezing in that little room on Skid row, shaking while eyeing the last inch of Old Grand Dad whiskey left in his bottle! Only an alcoholic can understand the desperation of that feeling.
    Then the magic happened… Chan talked to Pat, and… Pat stayed sober from that point on.

November 10 in A.A. History

In 1937, Willard S. Richardson [near right] wrote to Dr. Leonard V. Strong [far right]:

    I have now had conferences with four men whose judgment as to the interesting story of Mr. [Bill] W—– I think is good. I assure you that even my repeating of the story was impressive to them, and they thought the matter very important. They were all inclined to agree with me that, if possible, any organization of this project and anything that tended to professionalize or institutionalize it would be a serious matter and quite undesirable. Some of them thought quite as highly of Mr. W—–’s experience as a religious one as they did of it as a liquor one.

    The letter went on to suggest an early lunch meeting for Bill W., Strong, and himself. This meeting would lead to an invitation from Richardson to convene in John D. Rockefeller’s private boardroom at Rockefeller Center [left, 1 Jan 1937], along with several close associates of Rockefeller. Representing A.A. would be Dr. Strong, Dr. Silkworth, Bill W., Dr. Bob S., and a few alcoholics from both New York City and Akron, Ohio.

In 1939, Clarence S. [left] wrote to the Alcoholic Foundation in New York City, informing them that three A.A. groups would be established in Cleveland, Ohio, effective that week. He added,

    I expect two more at least by the beginning of the year. Right now, we have about 60 A.A.’s, most of them active, and an additional 15 to 20 being worked on in various ways. By splitting into smaller groups, the numbers should increase quite rapidly in the next 30 to 60 days.

    He had nothing to say about the uproar regarding newspaper reporters attending group meetings or his expulsion and the consequent need to start a new group. However, he did note that the Oxford Group was “hopping up and down, as they have been trying vainly to get publicity.”

In 2024, the American Journal of Medicine [right: cover] published an article titled “New Clinical and Public Health Challenges: Increasing Trends in United States Alcohol Related Mortality” online. The abstract states, in part:

Background
    In the United States (US) and worldwide alcohol is a major contributor to premature mortality and morbidity. We explored US trends in alcohol related mortality from 1999 to 2020 overall and by age, gender, race, and region.…
Results
    In 1999, there were 19,356 alcohol-related deaths, a mortality rate of 10.7 per 100,000. By 2020, deaths increased to 48,870 or 21.6 per 100,000. Overall, the mortality rate ratio (MRR) was significantly increased about 2.0-fold. There were significant increases in all 10-year age groups with the largest 3.8-fold in those 25 to 34. Women experienced a 2.5-fold increase;. Asians and Pacific Islanders had the largest increase of 2.4-fold:. the Midwest showed the largest regional increase of 2.5-fold.
Conclusions
    During the last 20 years there have significant increases of about 2-fold in US alcohol-related mortality. Clinical challenges are increased by interrelationships of risk factors, especially overweight and obesity and diabetes. Alcohol, overweight and obesity and diabetes all cause liver damage which may be additive and lead to earlier onset of alcohol related mortality. In addition health providers should also consider demographic shifts, and regional differences. Targeted interventions by health care providers may reduce this increasing US epidemic of alcohol related mortality. These data also generate many hypotheses testable in analytic studies designed a priori to do so.

    In March 2025, this article would be re-published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

November 9 in A.A. History

In 1944, four months before his 58th birthday, James “Jim” R., co-founder of the first A.A. group in Baltimore, Maryland, died [near right: headstone; far right: obituary, Baltimore’s The Evening Sun] of a heart attack after playing handball at the Baltimore’s Central YMCA. He had gotten sober on 7 Jun 1933, more than 18 months before Bill W., and he never drank again.

In 2001, the General Service Office (GSO) sent a complimentary copy of the 4th edition of the Big Book, Alcoholics Anonymous [left], to every registered group in the United States and Canada.

November 8 in A.A. History

In 1944, the Scarborough (Ontario) General Hospital Service Meeting [left: Scarborough General Hospital, c. 1956] was started by Tony T., Duncan Donald M., Jack T., and Joe S., all of whom remained continuously sober until their deaths. Bill M. from the Unionville Group attended the first meeting and would participate until at least the group's 25th anniversary. Tommy H., also from the Unionville Group, attended the inaugural meeting and would continue until his death in 1999. Betty, Tommy’s wife and a hospital employee, supported and facilitated the meeting, even arranging discounted parking for members. Roy St. C., a hospital patient, would attend the second meeting, and other patients would soon follow. Eventually, Murray D., who would die after 44 years of continuous sobriety, would become a regular attendee, arriving early to set up and make coffee.
    Originally a discussion meeting, the format would evolve into one that lasted for over 25 years: three readings followed by a speaker sharing their experience, strength, and hope for 25 minutes, and concluding with a 15-minute question-and-answer period. This format would prove to be quite suitable for the hospital setting.

November 7 in A.A. History

In 1944, the Cleveland (Ohio) Central Committee held its monthly meeting with 37 members representing 23 of the 44 local groups, plus one from Toledo. “[A] restless and exciting atmosphere was quite noticeable,” said one attendee. Even after the call to order and the Serenity Prayer, as reports of old business were being read, the moderator had to call the body to order “again and again.” Still, there was “a murmur of persistent whispering.” When they reached the last report, that of the Hospital Committee,

    … the impatience and restlessness… was [sic]… obvious. Not many seemed to know… the reason for the strange atmosphere… Rumors had… spread that a group of members, mostly old-timers, were… proposing the affiliation of… A.A.… to the Oxford Group. Others… had heard that this same group wanted to have a screening committee to approve applications of new members. There… [were] many different rumors about what was to be proposed. Two members were so incensed… that they… voice[d] the opinion that it would be… better not to allow the group of agitators or reformers to talk. It wasn’t easy for the moderator to maintain quietness and proceed. Finally the turn to new business began.
    One member… requested to be heard on… [an item] of new business. The moderator consented and this member,… [said] that he was speaking not only for himself but also for… other members. He said some… were present and others were not; however,… their names were Charles D., Dr. F. F., Cliff B., Paul J., Elmer L., Abby G., Kay H,, Clarence S., John D., Jack D., Clarence W. and a few others whose names… [have been lost]. All present had their eyes and undivided attention fixed on the man talking,… waiting for the bomb that was supposed to explode. [He]… went on to say that he, as well as… [those he represented], had driven to Akron for some time to attend meetings of the Oxford Group… before the actual birth of A.A.… [T]he purpose of their interest in the Oxford Group had been the same interest… [as] now… [in] A.A. Practically all of… [them] had journeyed… to Akron… to acquire… sobriety…. However,… many men and women here [are] in need of our A.A. program and… [he] and the… men he represented [thought] that the Central Committee… [consider] the establishment of a Central A.A. Office similar to that already functioning in Chicago.
    Even before he… [was] back in his chair, practically every member’s hand was raised requesting the floor. After a… prolonged discussion the assembly became divided… [between] those in favor of the project, and [those]… against. After almost three and a half hours of debate, a motion was made and carried that the Central Committee appoint a committee to formulate a plan as to how the establishment of a District Office could be carried out.

    Three months later, to the day, the Alcoholics Anonymous Cleveland District Office would open [right: looking through the glass door entrance to that office].

November 6 in A.A. History

In 1880, Ernest Jacoby [right, 1913] was born in Manchester, Lancashire, England, as the eighth of eleven known children of Bertha Iklé and Siegfried Jacoby. After emigrating to the United States in 1888, he would become a rubber merchant in Boston, Massachusetts, and a parishioner at Emmanuel Episcopal Church. In 1908, he initiated weekly meetings for men struggling with alcohol problems. This group would later advertise itself as the Jacoby Club, “A Club for Men to Help Themselves by Helping Others.”

Today in A.A. History—November 6–8

	In 2020, the 62nd Australian General Service Conference was held online [left: Conference Report cover]. The theme was “I Am Responsible.” Among the advisory actions was #009/2020, which stated:     Conference resolved that the creation of a virtual Area be included as part of the review of the General Service Structure by the Conference Policies & Admissions Committee. All Conference members are requested to advise of any concerns so they can be addressed in a guideline for creating a virtual Area. A draft of this guideline will be circulated to Conference members for input, following which a mail poll will be conducted for approval of the guideline prior to Conference next year.

November 5 in A.A. History

In 1962, the CBS radio program Dimensions of a Woman’s World, hosted by Betty Furness [right, 5 Mar 1962], featured an epi­sode about “International A.A.” Furness began by saying, “I’ve just discovered some of the international aspects of Alcoholics Anonymous… and it’s a most interesting story.” She shared stories about A.A. overseas and concluded by saying, “A.A. both here and abroad working with Loners, or large groups of people… is an extraordinary organization.”

In 2002, the Scarborough General Hospital Meeting of Alcoholics Anonymous [left: the hospital of that name, c. 2014] in Scarborough, Ontario, celebrated 25 years of continuous service, with one original member and several early members in attendance. The speaker was Mildred F. from the Rox Glen Traditional Group of A.A.

In 2019, Central Recovery Press published the first edition of Writing the Big Book: The Creation of A.A. [near right: cover] by William H. “Bill” Schaberg [far right].

November 4 in A.A. History

In 1939, the Cleveland (Ohio) Plain Dealer published the second [right] and final article in Elrick B. Davis’s second series titled “A Physician Looks Upon Alcoholics Anonymous.” It read, in part,

    The first appraisal in a scientific journal of Alcoholics Anonymous, former drunkards who cure themselves by curing each other with the help of religious experience, was published in the July issue of the journal Lancet [sic]. It was “A New Approach to Psychotherapy [in]^* Chronic Alcoholism.: [sic] by W. D. Silkworth, M.D. physician in charge, Chas B. Town’s Hospital, New York City. A drunkard [Bill W.] during a moment of [deep]^* depression had the spontaneous “religious experience” which started his cure. This was the seed from which came Alcoholics Anonymous. Dr. silkworth [sic] was at first skeptical. He is no longer.

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^*Brackets in original

	In 1939, encouraged by Nona W., Marty M. and Bill and Lois W.* first visited Joy Farm in Kent, Connecticut, which was run by Ethelred Folsom [left], who preferred to be called Sister Francis, after Francis of Assisi. A remarkable woman, her generosity provided a home for those in need of healing and spiritual nourishment. Because her beliefs aligned with the principles of Alcoholics Anonymous, she offered the farm to Bill W. for the work of A.A. Bill declined, but in 1940, others established it as the world’s first 12-Step treatment center, renaming it High Watch Farm [right: aerial view].

    Marty would later describe their arrival:

    There was something there, something that was really palpable that you could feel and every one of us felt it. To say that we fell in love with it, is not to use the right terminology at all. We were engulfed… What is at the Farm was already at the Farm before we ever found it. It found us, in my opinion.

    Bill famously described the spiritual atmosphere as so thick that you could cut it with a knife.

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^*Marty, in a speech at the 25th anniversary of High Watch, mentioned that it was late October and that Horace C. and Bert T., along with their wives, accompanied them.

In 1940, Bill and Lois W. moved into one of two small upstairs bedrooms [left, line drawing from February 1951 A.A. Grapevine] in the clubhouse at 334½ W. 24th St. in New York City, where they would live for about a year.^* Lois increased the apparent size of the room by removing unnecessary shelves and painting the walls white with red trim. She also made a dressing table out of an orange crate.

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^*Pass It On says 5 months (p. 239).

In 1963, Bill W. attended the funeral service for Rev. Dr. Samuel Moor Shoemaker, III at St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Owings Mills, Maryland near Burnside, the Shoemaker estate [right: recent photo of the manor house at Burnside]. Thirty years later, Shoemaker’s younger daughter, Nickie Shoemaker Haggart, “well remembered” something Bill had said to her as they stood together that day in the driveway at Burnside:

    Don’t let anyone ever tell you that I founded A. A. If it wasn’t for Sam Shoemaker, A. A. would never have been born.