October 18 in A.A. History

		In 1952, The Saturday Evening Post [far left: cover] published an anonymous article titled “I’m a nurse in an Alcoholic Ward” [near left]. The author was Theresa “Teddy” R., a nurse at Knickerbocker Hospital [near right, c. 1940; far right: Knickerbocker ambulance at Knickerbocker entrance] in New York City. Dr. William Silkworth, a colleague, referred to her as a “red-headed powerhouse.” The teaser for the article read,

    The author—a onetime alcoholic—has nursed 5,000 drunks through the fading hours of their most spectacular sprees. Here is what she has faced in salvaging doctors, lawyers, ministers, priests, housewives, and stenographers from drink and the devil.

    In the article, Teddy explained her motivation: 

    After a month of daily increasing happiness I was struck with an overwhelming sense of gratitude. 
    I was grateful to that lonely handful of men who formulated the AA principles of recovery and set them down; grateful to the thousands of alcoholics who, in the face of every conceivable difficulty and temptation, had picked up these tenets and doggedly clung to them, fighting to hang on to their sobriety so it could be passed on to me. I felt I must do something in return.
    When I learned about the A.A. ward at Knickerbocker I knew what that something would have to be. I was a trained nurse. During all the years I had frittered away, that training had seemed meaningless. Now it made sense—I was meant to work in that ward. I bombarded the supervising nurse with telephone calls by day, and prayers to God at night, and three months later I got the job.
    These five years have brought deep satisfactions. I can’t convey how much it means to see the transformation in people. They come to us physical, mental and moral wrecks. They leave encouraged but still uncertain. Then, months later, they come back–bright-eyed, rosy-cheeked, eager to help; job back, family back, going concerns again, ready to pass on, with dividends, what’s been given to them. To know that I had some small part in this rebirth is a blessing far beyond what I deserve.

October 17 in A.A. History

			In 1935, Edwin “Ebby” T. [far left], the man Bill W. [near left, 1937] called his sponsor, moved in with Bill and his wife, Lois [middle left, 1937], at 182 Clinton Street [right: c. 1940, 2009] in Brooklyn.

In 1940, Toledo, Ohio’s first meeting of Alcoholics Anonymous took place at the home of Ruth T., located at 2222 River Rd. [left] in Maumee Township. The attendees included Ruth, “Duke” P., who led the meeting, Charlie “CJ” K., Walter C., Chet M., Bill W.,^* Pete B., Ed B., and Ernie G.,^† one of the first 100 members of A.A. All nine had previously traveled to Akron, Ohio, to learn firsthand about A.A.

---

^*Not A.A.’s co-founder. 
^†Not the Ernie G. who married Dr. Bob and Anne S.’s daughter, Sue.

October 16 in A.A. History

In 1937, Bill and Lois W. left Akron, Ohio, at 4:30 p.m. and traveled with Sterling P. (who drove) and his wife, arriving in Newark, New Jersey, at 5:30 a.m. on the 17th. The four of them had breakfast at a local restaurant before the W——s took the subway home to 182 Clinton St. in Brooklyn, where they presumably collapsed into bed.

In 1943, nearly 200 people attended the 3rd anniversary of Alcoholics Anonymous in Toledo, Ohio, at the A.A. clubrooms on Superior St. Among them were six of the nine founding members. [Right: article from the Toledo Blade, 18 Oct 1943, p. 20.]

			In 1962, Earle Treat [far left], 62, died in Sarasota, Florida. He would be buried in Oakwood Cemetery in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio [middle left: obituary; near left, gravestone].

In 1971,^* the North Rustico Group, located in North Rustico, Prince Edward Island, Canada, presented Louis H. with an engraved coin [right] to commemorate his one-year anniversary.

In 1976,^* the North Rustico Group, located in North Rustico, Prince Edward Island, Canada, presented Louis H. with an engraved coin [left] to commemorate his five-year anniversary.

---

^*One of three things occurred: either (1) Louis H. slipped on the day of his 1st anniversary, (2) at least one of the years reported is incorrect, or (3) at least one of the anniversary numbers is wrong. The period 1971–1976 is 5 years, while a 5th anniversary would come 4 years after the 1st, if without slips.

In 2012, the U.S. National Park Service designated Stepping Stones, the home of Bill and Lois W. from 1941 until their respective deaths, as a National Historic Landmark. The official marker [right] says,

    Bill and Lois W—– lived here from 1941 until their deaths. Bill co-founded Alcoholics Anonymous, and Lois co-founded Al-Anon Family Groups. Their pioneering work advanced the treatment of alcoholism and inspired addiction recovery programs throughout the world.

    The State of New York also erected a similar historical marker outside Stepping Stones [left].

October 15 in A.A. History

In 1904, Margaret “Marty” M. [right, as a debutante, c. 1925] was born to Lillian Christy and William Henry M. in her maternal grandparents’ home on Magnolia Avenue in Sheridan Park, a new upscale neighborhood on the North Shore of Chicago, Illinois. Her family lived just down Magnolia Street. Marty was the oldest of five children. A sister, Christy, was born in 1906 but died within 36 hours. Lillian Christy “Chris” was born in 1910, and twins Mary Elizabeth “Betty” and William Henry arrived in 1918. Young Marty led an upper-middle-class life, attending private schools, traveling extensively, and making her social debut.

October 14 in A.A. History

In 1939, The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) published a brief and unfavorable review [right] of the book Alcoholics Anonymous, which concluded with:

    The book under review is a curious combination of organizing propaganda and religious exhortation. It is in no sense a scientific book, although it is introduced by a letter from a physician who claims to know some of the anonymous contributors who have been “cured” of addiction to alcohol and have joined together in an organization which would save other addicts by a kind of religious conversion. The book contains instructions as to how to intrigue the alcoholic addict into the acceptance of divine guidance in place of alcohol in terms strongly reminiscent of Dale Carnegie and the adherents of the Buchman (“Oxford”) movement. The one valid thing in the book is the recognition of the seriousness of addiction to alcohol. Other than this; the book has no scientific merit or interest.

October 13 in A.A. History

In 1937, at an “alcoholic squadron” meeting^* in T. Henry and Clarace Williams’ living [right] in Akron, Ohio, Bill proposed expanding the movement with hospitals for alcoholics, paid missionaries, and a book.
    Later, Bill said that after “counting noses” with Dr. Bob and realizing the success they were having, he made this proposal to Bob. While Bob was initially cool to the idea, he found the notion of a book somewhat appealing. Together, Bill and Bob decided to call a meeting of the Ohio members, along with the New York City members Bill had brought with him, to thoroughly discuss Bill’s ideas and take a vote.
    Eighteen voting members attended the meeting. Bill presented his proposal, suggesting that the rich would be willing to fund these plans. But as he made his case, it became clear that the Ohio contingent was not impressed. They preferred to keep things simple, believing that money would create a professional class and ruin everything. Active alcoholics wouldn’t trust paid missionaries any more than early Christians would have trusted paid apostles. Jesus, they noted, did not rely on pamphlets or books; his program was word-of-mouth. Moreover, the publicity surrounding a book would overwhelm them as they tried to answer all the inquiries. After passionate arguments and counterarguments, the group seemed angrily deadlocked, but they reluctantly agreed to take a vote.
    Bill’s proposal narrowly passed with a vote of 10–8 (noting that a two-thirds majority would have required 12 votes in favor). Dr. Bob likely gave his reluctant approval. No one knows for certain who else was there, who voted, or how anyone voted. Bill was in Akron with three members from New York City: Bill R., Sterling P., and Fitz M. If they were present and voted, that would account for 5 votes in favor. If they weren’t there or didn’t vote, 8 more votes would have been needed from the Ohio members. The other New York City members would have been much more enthusiastic.

---

^*Note the 13th is only the most likely date, as Schaberg deduces in a footnote to Writing the Big Book on page 27, partly because that was the regular night for the “alcoholic squadron” of the Oxford Group meeting at the Williams’ home; however, it could have been any day between the 11th and 15th.

In 1947, the first permanent Alcoholics Anonymous group in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, held its initial meeting in the deacons’ room of the Independent Hall on Collins Street.

		Attendees included Lillian R. [far left, 1947], a Hollywood movie star on tour in Australia; her husband, Burt McG. [near right, 1968]; Harold J., a local drunk; and Jack O’H. [far right, with his wife], a composer and playwright who chaired the meeting. Two non-alcoholics also attended: Rev. Dr. Gordon Powell [near left, 1947], the Presbyterian minister of the Collins Street Independent Church [below left] (now St. Michael’s Uniting Church), broadcaster, and author; and Norman Ley, secretary of the Independent Church. Harold was elected secretary. This group, known as the Melbourne Group of A.A., met at least once a week for the next two years in Powell’s room in the Independent Hall.

	Three additional weekly meetings soon followed: one on High Street in St. Kilda [near right, 1957]; another near Brighton railway station [middle right]; and one at Talbot House [far right: interior, 1928], better known as “Toc H,” a soldiers’ rest and recreation centre located at 476 Collins Street in Melbourne.

October 12 in A.A. History

In 1911, Ruth Miller [right] was born in Newark, New Jersey, to Fredric and Sophie Kraemer Muller. 
    She would marry George Hock in 1929, but they would separate in 1935 and divorce in 1941. In January 1936, she would be hired as a secretary at Honor Dealers by Hank P. In 1940, she would become the first National Secretary of Alcoholics Anonymous.

In 1948, Paul H. [left, 1956] wrote a memo titled “BILL’S STORY OF THE EVOLUTION OF THE ‘TWELVE STEPS.’” In this memo, he recounted a story shared by Bill W. during a train ride from New York City to Washington, DC, on 1 January 1948. They were traveling to a regional banquet where Paul was scheduled to speak about the late Fitz M.
    Later, Paul wrote to Bill, mentioning that upon arriving in Washington, he had dictated Bill’s story to Eileen Barrett, who had also been on the train and who confirmed the accuracy of Paul’s recollection. It was from these dictated notes that Paul composed the memo, which included the following:

    Bill said that Fitz himself had no actual part in the writing of the “Twelve Steps” but that his spiritual perception and influence were a definite factor in their formulation.
    Bill went on to explain how the pioneers in A.A. fought, thought—and prayed—their way through to recovery. In his effort to rehabilitate himself the alcoholic was obliged:

1. To admit he was powerless over alcohol.
2. To make an inventory of his own character.
3. To put trust in God.
4. To work with other alcoholics.

    As it stood, this program needed clarification. Bill sat down and began to figure out the various phases of his own recovery. Setting them down on paper, he found there were twelve separate and distinct steps.

    The significance of this account lies in the fact that, despite occurring more than nine years after the event, it was the first known account Bill provided about the writing of the Twelve Steps. His later accounts would introduce important variations. Notably, this account identifies only four steps instead of the later six, and Paul’s account indicates that Bill based the steps on “the various phases of his own recovery” rather than, as Bill later said, that “the words kept right on coming”^* and that “Why the Steps were written down in the order in which they appear today and just why they were worded as they are, I had no idea whatever.”^†

---

^*Alcoholics Anonymous Comes of Age, p. 161.
^†The “Blue Book”, Vol. XII, “National Clergy Conference on Alcoholism: Alcoholics Anonymous,” pp. 179–210, 1960.