May 20 in A.A. History

1908: Sybil A. [left: with her two older brothers] was born in Melrose, New Mexico, to Addie Florence Jones and Henry Filander A., a poor but hardworking couple. (The family likely resided at 108 Fifth Street, their home in 1910 [right: 100 block, Aug 2019]). The family soon relocated to Simmons, a small oil town in Texas.
    Sybil began drinking around the age of 14 after her family relocated to Los Angeles, California, from Texas. She had a child with her first husband, James S., a sailor. She believed that having the child would help her stop drinking, but instead, she drank more than ever. Eventually, her parents took the child from her.
    In 1928, she married Lyle H., with whom she had two children—one who died the day she was born, in 1929, and another in 1931. They lived at 7319 S. Halldale Street, Los Angeles [far left, Dec 2017]. In 1938, she married Richard M., and they lived for many years at 7711 S. Figueroa Street, Los Angeles [near left, before being rebuilt in 2009].
    As Sybil M. [right: Sybil as a young adult], she became the first woman west of the Mississippi to get sober in Alcoholics Anonymous (A.A.). She later became best known by her fourth and second-to-last married name, Sybil C.

1938: Two days after receiving an advance from Charles B. Towns, Bill W., then less than 3½ years sober, began writing the book that would eventually become Alcoholics Anonymous. He likely started with his own story, marking the first of three attempts at the manuscript. This initial effort is a handwritten manuscript of fourteen paragraphs on eight sheets of yellow legal paper, titled “The Strange Obsession” [left: page 1].

1941: The 15th Alcoholics Anonymous group in the Cleveland, Ohio area, the first known women’s group, formed with 16 members and met at 12214 Detroit Ave., Lakewood, Ohio [right, Nov 2015].

May in A.A. History—day unknown

1950: Nell Wing [left], a non-alcoholic who had worked at the Alcoholic Foundation since 1947, became Bill Wilson’s secretary. In 1955, she would begin collecting archival items, eventually organizing A.A.'s archives and becoming its first Archivist.

1950: The General Service Office (G.S.O.), formerly known as A.A. “Headquarters,” and the A.A. Grapevine’s two-person editorial staff relocated just a two-minute walk away in New York City, moving from 415 Lexington Ave. to 141 E. 44th St. [right: respectively, c. 1940]. At the same time, a system for rotating Senior General Secretaries was established.

1951: Al-Anon was founded by Lois W. and Anne B. [left, respectively], both spouses of Alcoholics Anonymous members. Al-Anon considers its founding to have occurred throughout the entire month. 
    After the 1st A.A. General Service Conference, Lois invited the wives of the Delegates to the Conference to lunch at her home. This led Lois and her close friend and neighbor, Anne, to open an office at Stepping Stones [right]. They obtained a list of 87 family groups and nonalcoholic individuals or family groups across the U.S., Canada, Australia, South Africa, and Ireland from the Alcoholic Foundation. To unify them, Lois and Anne sent a combination invitation/questionnaire [left: cover letter]. Eventually, the name Al-Anon Family Groups was chosen for the resulting new fellowship. With A.A.’s permission, Al-Anon adopted the Twelve Steps and, later in 1954, the Twelve Traditions as its guiding principles.

May 19 in A.A. History

1942: As a supplement to its Commerce Reports, the U.S. Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce published Trade Information Bulletin No. 231, “British Dyestuffs Industry” [far left], authored by Dr. Frederick B. [near left, 1923], the American trade commissioner to Germany.

1942: The War Department’s Office of the Adjutant General responded to Bill W.’s 6 March 1942 request for a World War II commission with a non-responsive form letter [right] that stated, among other things:

• All new applicants for the Army or the Army Specialist Corps are now being asked to fill out a revised form of questionnaire in duplicate.
• You will note that the new questionnaire calls for more details than the old form you filled out originally. The reason for asking for more details is that they are needed by the Army Specialist Corps so that the applicant’s training, experience, skills, and interests can be adequately considered by that Corps when the branches of the Army call upon it to locate and appoint civilians fitted for specific technical, professional or administrative duties.
• Sending you the new form to fill out does not mean that an offer of appointment will necessarily be made in the immediate future. All that can be said is that the revised system will make it easier to consider your application when men with your qualifications are needed. You are particularly requested not to make inquiries of the War Department as to the probability of your employment.

2000: Dr. Paul Hubert O. [left, with wife Max], sometimes referred to as “the funniest man in A.A.,” died at 83 in Mission Viejo, California.
    His story, “Bronzed Moccasins,” initially credited to “A Physician in California,” first appeared in the May 1975 issue of the A.A. Grapevine. It was later republished in the third edition of Alcoholics Anonymous as “Doctor, Alcoholic, Addict,” and in the fourth edition as “Acceptance Was the Answer.” Dr. Paul began his journey to sobriety in December 1966, achieving permanent sobriety in July 1967.

    Though he founded Pills Anonymous and Chemical Dependency Anonymous, he did not attend either group. Notably, he also did not introduce himself as “an alcoholic and addict,” and was irritated by those who sought to include addictions other than alcoholism in A.A. meetings. In a July 1995 interview with the A.A. Grapevine, he expressed concern that his story may have “overshot the mark” because it was used to justify drug discussions in meetings. He felt “most uncomfortable” when members recognized him and thanked him for providing justification for such discussions. Despite these reservations, he maintained there was nothing in his story he would change.

Today in A.A. History—May 19–25

2019: The 69th General Service Conference was held at the Crowne Plaza Times Square [right: view from an upper floor] in New York City. Among the Advisory Actions were the following:

• “a draft Fourth Edition of the Spanish Big Book, Alcohólicos Anonimos, be developed;”
• “the pamphlet ‘A.A. for the Black and African-American Alcoholic’ be updated;”
• language be added to “Questions and Answers on Sponsorship” to emphasize anonymity;
• “update the pamphlet ‘The Twelve Steps Illustrated’;”
• “update the pamphlet ‘The Twelve Concepts Illustrated’;”
• “allow time for discussion [during] the ‘Process for Polling the General Service Conference between Annual Meetings’;”
• “A.A. World Services, Inc. apply for Google AdWords/Grants, for the purpose of providing information about A.A. to the public;” and
• “The pamphlet ‘A.A. for the Older Alcoholic—Never Too Late’ be updated with a revised introduction; current and inclusive stories; reference to online A.A.; and an updated ‘How Do I Find A.A.?’ section;”

May 18 in A.A. History

1926: [Date uncertain^*] Bill and Lois W. [right: on the Harley, 1925] were involved in a serious motorcycle accident while traveling through the eastern U.S. on their Harley-Davidson, conducting research on publicly traded companies. The day before, in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, they had decided to head straight home to arrive in time for her sister Kitty’s wedding on June 17. In 1973, Lois wrote,

    Just outside of Dayton, Tennessee, I was driving on a sandy road, which apparently ran straight ahead, when suddenly, hidden by a large barn, it made a sharp angled turn to the right. I tried to force the wheels, but the sand was too deep and over we went. Bill, in the sidecar, was thrown over my head, breaking his collarbone as he landed; I twisted my leg, causing water on the knee; the equipment flew in every direction; and the trunk burst open.
    Luckily a man in a car soon came along and drove us, dazed and badly scratched, to a doctor in town who set Bill’s shoulder, bandaged my knee, and there being no hospital, settled us in a hotel room over his office.
    During our week’s stay there, Bill and I tried to picture what the town had been like the year before during the Scopes Evolution trial. We imagined William Jennings Bryan as he paced back and forth on one of the hotel’s five fancy grill-railed balconies rehearsing his speech, and Clarence Darrow with his chair tilted back against the wall and his feet on the rail, haranguing a coterie of youths; while the streets were crowded with visitors come to hear the great orator and see the show.
    It wasn’t too long before we were able to return to the fateful corner. The man who had picked us up had collected all our duffle and put it and the motorcycle into the barn, as he said he would. Although the door was left open, and more than a week had passed, not a single article was missing; even such attractive and easily packed items as the traveling clock, compass and radio were all there.
    We made arrangements to have the motorcycle and most of the gear shipped to Brooklyn. Then in a few days, when the doctor said we could travel, we took the train for home.

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^*Lois and Bill had arrived in Muscle Shoals on the evening of the 16th, just before dark. On the 17th, Lois wrote her final diary entry, noting: “There are great plans for the development of the whole area around Muscle Shoals…” The date of their departure for home, given here as the 18th, assumes they spent the 17th exploring Muscle Shoals. The distance to Dayton, Tennessee, is only about 210 miles [~340 km].

1950: Upon learning that A.A. members in Akron, Ohio, were hoping to erect a large monument to him, Dr. Bob S. told Bill W., “I reckon we ought to be buried like other folks” [left: Dr. Bob and Anne’s grave]. Bill recounted this in his “Dr. Bob” tribute in the January 1951 A.A. Grapevine:

    A year ago, when Anne passed away, the thought of an im­posing shaft came uppermost in the minds of many. People were insistent that something be done. Hear­ing rumors of this, Dr. Bob promptly declared against AAs erecting for Anne and himself any tangible memorials or monument. These usual symbols of personal distinction he brushed aside in a single devas­tating sentence. Said he, “Annie and I plan to be buried just like other folks.”

1978: At 1:10 a.m., an explosive device, believed to be dynamite, detonated at the front door of what the FBI identified as “the Alcoholics Anonymous Faith Club” [right] at 2814^* Clovis Road in Lubbock, Texas. While there were A.A. meetings there, the Faith Group & Club—its proper name—was also a bingo parlor and a drug and alcohol treatment/recovery center. Fortunately, no injuries were reported; however, property damage was estimated at $2,500 [~$12,700 in 2026].
    Lubbock police and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives responded to the scene. The FBI, Secret Service, and an Assistant U.S. District Attorney for the Northern District of Texas were also notified. The ATF agreed that the “FBI would assume jurisdiction… due to possible terrorist involvement.” The FBI attempted to determine whether any “known militant Mexican-American organizations operating in the Lubbock area, or any incidents which would create a climate for militant activity,” However, no suspects were ever identified, and no charges were filed [left: first non-cover page, redacted, of 37-page FOIA response regarding this incident].

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^*Now 2819 Clovis Road.

May 17 in A.A. History

1926: From Muscle Shoals, Alabama, Lois W.’s entry in her Diary of Two Motorcycle Hobos [left: cover of initial self-published version, 1973] reads:

    We [Bill and Lois] are not stopping in Pittsburgh as first planned, but are driving straight home, in order to be on time for Kitty’s [her sister’s] wedding. Now that we are on the home stretch, we can hardly wait to get there.

    The next entry, written almost 50 years later, begins:

    Because of an accident on the motorcycle [just outside Dayton, Tennessee] I discontinued my diary. The following account is set down from memory.…

1942: A New Haven, Connecticut, newspaper reportedly published an article about Alcoholics Anonymous, accompanied by a photo showing members seated in a circle.

1942: The Journal-Herald in Dayton, Ohio, published two stories [right] about Alcoholics Anonymous, under the titles “‘Alcoholics Anonymous’” and “‘AA’—National Organization Without Officers and Dues.” The articles included photos of members wearing Halloween masks to protect their anonymity.

1942: The Denver Post in Colorado published an article [left] in its Sunday magazine section about A.A., titled “Cured by their own ‘HORRIBLE EXAMPLES’.”

1942: The photo shown right, front and back, was taken and sold exclusively to Saturday Home Magazine, but it may not have been used by them, according to a note on the back. The text, which could have served as a caption or “cutline” for the photo, states:

    Members of ‘Alcoholics Anonymous’ are not reformers. They find that helping others, as this member is doing for the hospitalized man on the bed, is a vital part of the cure for themselves. It's all a part of their own courageous battle which, experience has taught, can be won through confidence and comradeship.

    The date “May 17, [19]42” appears on the back. This usually indicates the intended publishing date, the date the photo was taken, or when the magazine obtained it. This photo did appear in the article in Denver, Colorado’s The Denver Post on that same date, which is likely what it signifies.
    The individual in the photo certainly appears to be Bill W.

May in A.A. History—day unknown

1948: Before learning of his terminal illness, Dr. Bob Smith wrote to Bill Wilson about the concept of a General Service Conference:

    However desirable many of these changes may be, I have the feeling that they will be brought about without too much sudden upheaval. If the trustees are wrong, they will hang themselves. I am just as interested in A.A. as you are, but am not 100 percent sure as to the wisest course to follow and the wisest ultimate setup. “Easy Does It” is the best course to follow [emphasis added]. Maybe it would be wise to let the trustees act as trustees and perhaps insist that they do so, which might be effected with some outside pressure. The objection to the idea would be that they might mess things up badly while they attempt that. But they would surely get some unpleasant repercussions from the groups if they did.… Keep your shirt on for a bit, and remember that whatever happens, we love you a lot. Smithy.

May 16 in A.A. History

1941: Ruth Hock learned that Joseph Hooker W., Jr. had a “wet brain.”*
    Joe, an early member of New York City A.A. whom Bill W. called “our first literary light,” was a former writer for Metropolitan Magazine† [right: Sep 1917 cover]—who had recently been “scraped out of the Bowery.”
    He is sometimes credited‡ with coining the title Alcoholics Anonymous around October 1938, reportedly inspired by members’ habit of calling themselves “a nameless bunch of drunks.” According to Bill, Joe made “a burning issue” of the title, though his own sobriety remained “on and off.”

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^*“Wet brain” is the informal term for Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome, a condition caused by chronic alcohol intake. It results from a severe deficiency of vitamin B1 (thiamine) due to inadequate dietary intake, malabsorption from the gastrointestinal tract, and impaired cellular utilization. Without thiamine, the brain cannot process glucose, leading to a loss of energy and function.

^†While some have speculated otherwise, there is no evidence that Joe was a founder of Metropolitan Magazine or a founder and writer for The New Yorker.

^‡The earliest documented use of “Alcoholics Anonymous” as a name for the group and book is “likely” the first week of June 1938, according to William Schaberg. The term appears in Bill W.’s first draft of “There Is A Solution” and in Hank P.’s handwritten notes for the book, both from early June. Lois W. dated its first use to 15 June 1938, and Frank Amos used it in a letter to Albert Scott on 24 June 1938.

Today in A.A. History—May 16–19

2020: Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 70th General Service Conference (GSC) was held online as a so-called “virtual conference” over four days [left: Michele Grinberg, Class A Trustee and A.A. Grapevine Chair addressing the 70th GSC]. With only a month’s notice, the General Service Office staff had scrambled to organize the event and, as a result, only a limited number of agenda items were addressed.
    Advisory Actions included:

9.	That the General Service Conference implement electronic voting for trustee elections starting in 2021.
11.	That all A.A.W.S. video titles be adjusted for search engine optimization (SEO).
12.	That [one] sentence in Article 4 of the current Conference Charter… [b]e amended to read:
	“It will be further understood, regardless of the legal prerogatives of the General Service Board, as a matter of tradition, that a three-quarters vote of all Conference members participating in the vote may bring about a reorganization of the General Service Board and the directors and staff members of its corporate services, if or when such reorganization is deemed essential” [add the four italicized words].

    Of the eight proposed floor actions, all but two were forwarded to the 71st GSC for consideration.
    A floor action to “approve the slate of Directors for Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc. as originally presented by the General Service Board to the Conference Committee on Trustees” did not pass. However, a proposed slate of Directors was one of the floor actions forwarded to the 71st GSC.
    The Conference declined to consider extending the 71st GSC by up to three days, an action proposed due to the numerous agenda items deferred from the 70th GSC.

May 15 in A.A. History

1945: The Canadian magazine Maclean’s [right: cover] published “I Was a Drunk,” as told to J. J. Dingman. The article was subtitled “A Personal Experience of Reclamation by Cooperation: The Story of a Practical Fellowship—Alcoholics Anonymous.”

1949: Ed W. [far left], principal author of The Little Red Book [right], wrote from Minneapolis, Minnesota, to Bill W. His letter updated Bill about how “marvelously improved”^*< Barry C. [near left] was. He included copies of The Little Red Book.
    Published in 1946 by Ed and Barry, The Little Red Book served as a guide to A.A.’s Twelve Steps. Dr. Bob S. contributed to its editing, consulted on the text, and distributed copies. It was A.A.’s first step book, conceived as a companion to the Big Book, Alcoholics Anonymous, much like Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions would later become. Along with Akron, Ohio’s guides and pamphlets, The Little Red Book provides insight into how Dr. Bob practiced and taught the steps.
    Despite Bill W.’s high praise for The Little Red Book, the Alcoholic Foundation declined to publish it. The Trustees sought a book that A.A. could own, leading to the eventual publication of Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions in 1952.

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^*What Barry was recovering from is unknown; the date and contents of Ed’s message are only revealed by Bill’s reply on 31 May 1949.

1954: The Baltimore, Maryland Area Groups of Alcoholics Anonymous held their 9th Annual Banquet [far left: program] at the Emerson Hotel [near left], located at the intersection of Baltimore and Calvert Sts.

1961: Bill W.’s mother, Dr. Emily Ella Griffith Strobell [far right, with Bill in Yosemite National Park, 1947], died at the age of 91 in a nursing home in Dobbs Ferry, New York [near right: her gravestone].

1962:  In a letter to the Calix Society^* , Bill Wilson wrote:

    As you know I always have been personally partial to all persons or organizations whose good will and helpfulness to A.A. is beyond question. You need not have said that you strive to keep your efforts within the framework of the traditions of Alcoholics Anony­mous. I know you have tried and have succeeded.

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^*Founded in the 1940s, Calix is a Catholic organization dedicated to supporting individuals recovering from alcoholism and other addictions, along with their families and friends. It helps members maintain sobriety by integrating their Catholic faith with the principles of 12-Step recovery.

May 14 in A.A. History

1939: The first A.A. meeting in New Jersey, and the fourth in the world, was held in Upper Montclair at Hank and Kathleen P.’s home, 344 N. Fullerton Ave. [left].

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

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

    According to local accounts, the establishment of this office was spearheaded by Jack J. Tired of traveling to Los Angeles for everything they needed, Jack partnered with the group in Signal Hill to propose a Central Office in Long Beach, aiming to mutually benefit all groups in the Harbor Area.

1998: Sybil C. [far left: 1940s; near left: 1961] died just six days shy of her 90th birthday. A former bootlegger and dance hall girl, she was also the first woman in Alcoholics Anonymous west of the Mississippi. Later, Corwin served as Long Beach (California) Archivist and the first executive secretary of California A.A. She got sober on 23 March 1941. Known for her multiple marriages, Sybil often began her later talks with the memorable introduction: “My name is Sybil Doris Adams Stratton Hart Maxwell Willis C., and I’m an alcoholic.”

May in A.A. History—day unknown

1947: The seeds of Idaho’s first A.A. group were planted when a woman in the small town of Rigby, Idaho [right], read Jack Alexander’s article about A.A. in The Saturday Evening Post earlier that spring. Presumably seeking help for her husband, she wrote to the Alcoholic Foundation in New York City. By coincidence, Harry B.—a former member of both the Los Angeles, California “mother” group and the Salt Lake City, Utah group—had recently moved to Idaho Falls, Idaho, only 15 miles [~24 km] from Rigby. The two men connected and established Idaho Falls Group #1 in May, initially holding meetings in the home of Harry and his wife. The group quickly grew to 19 members and subsequently moved to a room in Rigby’s City Hall.

1948: The A.A. Grapevine reported receiving an inquiry that read, in part, “Enclosed you will find $2.00 for a bottle of… Alcoholics Anonymous.” The article, titled “Letters Ask for Bottle of Cure” [left], also noted,

    Letters addressed “Anonymous, • New York City,” and even some addressed, “Anonymous, U.S.A.,” sooner or later find their way into the General Service Headquarters. Many letters are now coming from foreign countries from people who have received anonymous gifts of food or money from the U.S.! These are most always written in the sender’s native tongue, posing a problem of translation.