August 7 in A.A. History

1938: In response to a request from Dr. Bob S. for clarification on what he wanted from the personal stories of Akron, Ohio A.A. members, Bill W. wrote:

About the stories, I should say that everyone should write at whatever length they want to; the more, the better. Then the thousand word manuscripts can be edited down to the right size. The idea is that a chance word or phrase or experience may be the most telling point of the story, which would be missed entirely if people were trying to restrict themselves to a given number of words.

August in A.A. History—day unknown

1943: Eight women in Charleston, West Virginia [right: Capitol Street, 1944] came together to form a women’s group.

1943: The Alcoholic Foundation received tax-exempt status from the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS), likely in response to the Revenue Act of 1943, which required certain tax-exempt organizations to file Form 990 information returns. This was not, however, when Alcoholics Anonymous (A.A.) became a 501(c)(3) organization—that designation didn't exist until the Revenue Code of 1954 introduced it as a specific section of the tax code. In 1954, the Alcoholic Foundation was renamed the General Service Board of Alcoholics Anonymous, Inc., retaining its tax-exempt status under the new designation.

1945: The A.A. Grapevine [left: pp. 1, 4] published Bill W.’s first essay on the Traditions, “Modesty One Plank for Good Public Relations.” This essay marked the start of a five-year campaign in which Bill advocated for the Traditions and for a General Service Conference. The previous month’s issue had featured an article on the Washingtonians, written by a member identified only as CHK, from Lansing, Michigan. Bill referenced that article in his own piece, writing:

Those who read the July Grapevine were startled, then sobered, by the account which it carried of the Washingtonian movement. It was hard for us to believe that 100 years ago the newspapers of this country were carrying enthusiastic accounts about 100,000 alcoholics who were helping each other stay sober; that today the influence of this good work has so completely disappeared that few of us had ever heard of it.

1945: The Richmond, Virginia, chapter of Alcoholics Anonymous (A.A.) [right: aerial view, 1948; left: downtown, 1940s] held its first public meeting, drawing a sizable crowd. Bill W. noted that the original Richmond group, founded in June 1940 by Ted C. and McGhee B., had “believed in getting away from their wives and drinking only beer.” In 1941, Jack W.—whom Bill W. called “the Virginia squire”—started a new group of five members that took a more traditional approach to A.A.

1945: The A.A. Grapevine reported:

The wilds of Alaska have been penetrated by A.A. Well, not exactly the wilds, for Alaska’s first group is in Skagway—a town known historically as the landing place of large quantities of supplies and thousands of people during the 1897–98 “Klondike Rush” to reach the gold mines in the upper (Canadian) Yukon.

[Right: map showing Skagway's location—84 miles (135 km) NNE of Juneau, at the upper end of Taiya Inlet]

1945: Margaret “Bobbie” B. [left], National Secretary of the Alcoholic Foundation in New York City, received Lynn G.’s contact information from Bob V. following their brief meeting in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Bobbie promptly wrote to Lynn to confirm the details, expressing her excitement about adding a new connection to her international network. In reply, Lynn confirmed a willingness to serve as an AA contact in Rio de Janeiro, though noting that the stay in Brazil would be brief. Lynn also requested materials—memorandums and bulletins—and added:

I have avoided the first drink for four months; by doing something, I believe I will maintain my sobriety… I would like to have some participation in the growth of Alcoholics Anonymous here in Brazil.

Lynn Goodale was never heard from again, and no one knows what became of him or her.

August 6 in A.A. History

1945: The Central Group [right] in Little Rock, Arkansas, adopted by-laws [left] that established nine fundamental principles:

1. That the problems of men and women alcoholics are so entirely different that, while we will gladly and freely give such help as we can when requested by women, this shall always be kept a group of male alcoholics.
2. The officers of this group shall be composed of a chairman and four committeemen, all elected by secret ballot, the Chairman for a term of 4 months, the committeemen for 1, 2, 3, & 4 months, and one committeeman elected each month thereafter for a 4 month term to succeed the retiring member.
3. That one slip is understandable, two slips, while not desirable, are acceptable, but three slips indicate a lack of sincerity and regardless of our personal feelings in the matter, that man cannot attend any meetings or be in any way affiliated with this group for a period of 1 year.
4. That the original approach program be adopted and used in its entirety.
5. That no housing facilities for prospects be provided by this group.
6. That no financial aid be extended any prospect by this group.
7. That regular weekly dues be paid, whether in attendance or not, and any deficits be met by assessments according to each members [sic] ability to pay.
8. That two sponsors be assigned each prospect.
9. That all controversial questions be settled by secret ballot, majority ruling, and any member has the right to [a] secure written ballot simply by request.

August in A.A. History—day unknown

1941: Clarence S. [far left], founder of Alcoholics Anonymous in Cleveland, Ohio, joined with Albert “Abby” G.^* [near left], and other Cleveland members, to establish the Cuyahoga Central Committee, later renamed the Cleveland Central Committee. All Cleveland A.A. groups would be invited to send representatives to its second meeting on 15 August.

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^*The Cuyahoga/Cleveland Central Committee was the first A.A. body to adopt the principle of rotating leadership. Accounts differ on its origin: Bill W. credited Abby G. with introducing it in Alcoholics Anonymous Comes of Age, while Mitchell K.’s biography of Clarence S., How It Worked, attributes the idea to Clarence.

1942: While temporarily living in Kansas City, Missouri [right: Main St., 1942] during World War II, Jeanne C. was struggling with alcoholism when she saw an advertisement for Alcoholics Anonymous in The Kansas City Star [left: ad that ran in The Star every Sunday during this time]. She contacted Kansas City Group Number One and joined.

After returning home to Springfield, Missouri [right: Park Central Square, c. 1940s], Jeanne managed to stay sober for two years—despite gas rationing—by frequently traveling back to Kansas City for meetings and by corresponding with National Secretary Margaret “Bobbie” B. at the Alcoholic Foundation in New York City.

She would go on to establish the first A.A. meetings in Springfield and Joplin, Missouri [left: 200 block of Main St., looking south, 1941].

1942: Bill W. visited Miami’s A.A. group [right: Miami Beach, 1942], Florida’s first, formally organized in April 1941. By then it had grown to 45 members, meeting twice a week.

August 5 in A.A. History

1917: Congress drafted the National Guard into federal service, allowing the U.S. Army to build the manpower needed to fight alongside the Allied Powers against the Central Powers^* in the Great War (World War I). National Guard units played a significant role in the forces that ultimately secured Allied victory.

At Norwich University, where Bill Wilson was a student, all students were required to belong to the Vermont National Guard—so when the call-up came, he was among those sent to serve.

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^*The Central Powers—collectively known as the Quadruple Alliance—comprised the German Empire, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, and Bulgaria.

1938: The Alcoholic Foundation was legally established as a charitable, tax-exempt organization, giving what would become Alcoholics Anonymous a formally incorporated, New York City-based center. Frank Amos [far left] recruited John Wood [near left], a non-alcoholic attorney, to handle the legal work.

The Foundation was formally created with the signing and delivery of a 13-page “Trust Indenture,” prepared by Wood. Its initial trustees were Wood; Frank Amos (non-alcoholic); Willard "Uncle Bill" Richardson  [near right] (non-alcoholic); Bill R. [far right], who had accompanied Bill W. to Akron the previous October; and Dr. Bob S.

An Advisory Board was also elected, comprising Bill W., Hank P., Albert Scott [left] (non-alcoholic), and A. LeRoy "Chip" Chipman [right] (non-alcoholic). The deed of trust required that non-alcoholic trustees hold a majority. One challenge Wood faced while drafting the document was that there was no legal way to define the difference between an alcoholic and a non-alcoholic. To solve this, he created the terms Class A and Class B to distinguish non-alcoholic members from alcoholic ones, respectively.

Richardson served on the board until April 1949, when he became the first Trustee Emeritus—a position he held until his death in 1952. Wood’s tenure was brief: having focused his efforts on drafting the original Trust Agreement, he resigned in December 1939. Bill R., whose story “A Business Man’s Recovery” appears in the first edition of Alcoholics Anonymous, served as the Foundation’s first President (a role later renamed Chairman of the Board). He submitted his resignation^* in December, citing the stress of work combined with a newborn at home; his resignation wasn’t accepted until February. Harry B.^† [left]—whose story “A Different Slant” also appears in the first edition—was then elected to succeed him, after which Bill R. joined the Advisory Board.

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^*A persistent myth holds that Bill R. resigned because he had relapsed into drinking. He had not.

^†In the chapter “More About Alcoholism,” “Fred” is a pseudonym for Harry B.

August in A.A. History—day unknown

1939: Herbert “Bert” T. [right, late 1930s], a New York Alcoholics Anonymous (A.A.) member, pledged his fashionable Fifth Avenue tailor shop—already heavily mortgaged because of his drinking—as collateral for a $1,000 loan [~$24,000 in 2026] to Works Publishing.

Bill W. was desperate to keep Works Publishing afloat until “Alcoholics and God,” edited by Fulton Oursler, appeared in Liberty magazine. To raise the money, Bert approached a wealthy client in Baltimore, Mr. Cochran, who was sympathetic to A.A. Bert laid out the situation and asked for a loan. Cochran hesitated. When Bert suggested he instead buy stock in Works Publishing, Cochran grew even more doubtful and, after reviewing the balance sheet, turned that down too. Fially, Bert proposed that Cochran co-sign a loan—and Cochran agreed enthusiastically. Bill later wrote, “This probably saved the book company.”

The article ran on September 30 [left: magazine cover], drawing 800 inquiries and generating enough book sales to carry Works Publishing through the rest of 1939. Bert’s tailor shop, however, went broke within a year or two.
[Some sources date this loan to December 6, but that date doesn’t fit the timeline.] 

August 4 in A.A. History

1947: The 80th U.S. Congress enacted H.R. 2659, (“an act to establish program [sic] for rehabilitation of alcoholics, promote temperance, and provide for medical and scientific treatment of persons found to be alcoholics by courts of District of Columbia, and for other purposes”) into law. Julius S., a member of Washington, D.C.’s Alcoholics Anonymous Cosmopolitan Group, had testified at the bill’s hearings.

Today in A.A. History—August 4–5

2001: An ad hoc Roundtable convened in Manhattan to discuss issues and plan future directions for Area access to group records maintained by the General Service Office (GSO). The Roundtable members included a mix of computer-savvy and less experienced A.A. members, including an Area Delegate, a regional Class B Trustee, at least four area registrars, and three representatives from GSO.

Participants agreed to utilize the Microsoft Access database platform, which was favored by delegate areas in a GSO-conducted survey. Discussions also covered the original purpose and future direction of the ‘DelArea’ program, a joint development between GSO and the Areas concerning group data management, update timing, and record-editing rights.

One attendee remarked, “We were fortunate in having a cross-section of service experience and computer capabilities.” They added that the new DelArea program “will encourage the frequent exchange of information and, consequently, the timely receipt of GSR (general service representatives) Kits for incoming GSRs.”

August in A.A. History—day unknown

1937: Bill and Lois W. [left], along with other members of their small group of recovering alcoholics, ceased attending Oxford Group (OG) meetings in New York City. This decision followed criticism from OG members who faulted Bill for exclusively working with alcoholics, labeling both him and Lois as “not maximum”—an extreme OG insult. Furthermore, OG leaders had prohibited alcoholics residing at Calvary Rescue Mission from attending the “drunk squad” meetings held at 182 Clinton Street in Brooklyn. These events unfolded while Rev. Sam Shoemaker [right] was on vacation.

Concurrently, in Akron, Ohio, OG members outside the “alcoholic squadron” criticized the OG meetings led by T. Henry and Clarace Williams [left], arguing they overly emphasized assisting alcoholics. These developments initiated Alcoholics Anonymous’s separation from external affiliations and established the foundation for Tradition Six. Despite this, the Akron “alcoholic squadron” maintained its affiliation with the OG for more than two years.

1938: About a year after Earl T. [right] had gotten sober during his initial trip to Akron, Ohio, his boss, aware of Earl’s recovery, asked him to help a salesman, Dick R., who was drinking heavily. Earl visited Dick at the sanitarium where he was being treated. To Earl’s surprise, Dick was receptive to his support, having long wanted to address his drinking problem but not knowing how to begin. After a few days, Earl suggested Dick go to Akron and stay with a local family, which Dick did.

Upon returning to Chicago, Earl and Dick began holding informal daily meetings and seeking others to help.

August 3 in A.A. History

1911: Earle M. [right] was born in Omaha, Nebraska. At age ten, he and his family—his father, mother, and brother—relocated to San Francisco, California, which he would come to regard as home. He later became a distinguished gynecological surgeon. In June 1953, he sobered up, and remained sober for 49 years until his death in 2003. His story, “Physician Heal Thyself,” appeared in the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th editions of the Big Book, Alcoholics Anonymous.

1918: [Likely date] After crossing the North Atlantic Ocean, the H.M.T. Lancashire (a hired military transport ship) [left] arrived in Liverpool, England, carrying Bill W. and his Coastal Artillery Corps unit.

1985: In her syndicated column [right, as published in the Steubenville, Ohio, Herald-Star, with an edited title], Ann Landers recommended Alcoholics Anonymous, Al-Anon, and Alateen:

Dear Ann Landers: My friend was always a heavy drinker, but since his wife died he misses work repeatedly and get dead drunk on weekends.

I have tried reasoning with him, but he gets angry and orders me out of his house. How can I help him? – No Name In New York

Dear No Name: Trying to reason with a drunk is like trying to blow out a lightbulb.

When he is sober let the drinker know, in a nonjudgmental way, that you are concerned. Set aside your hostility and remember you are angry at the illness, not him.

Contact the National Headquarters of the National Council on Alcoholism, 12 West 21st St., New York, N.Y., 10010. They will put you in touch with program and services in your area

Alcoholics Anonymous is the most effective organization for drunks who want to stop killing themselves. Al-Anon is a terrific support group for relatives tives of alcoholics who choose to hang in there. Alateen is a group for teenagers whose parent (or parents) are boozers. The majority of heartwarming thank-you letters I have received over the years have come from people I’ve sent to A.A. and Al-Anon.

1989: The Liberty Bell’s Group—“Half cracked but liberated from booze a day at a time”—was founded at the First Lutheran Church [left], 217 N. Lindsay St., Lake Elsinore, California. An early meeting schedule [right] shows:

Mon. Mixed	[Closed]	As Bill Sees It
Thurs. Mixed	[Closed]	Big Book study
Fri. Men Only	[Closed]	12×12
Sat. Mixed	[Closed]	Discussion
Last Sat. of Month Mixed	Open	Birthday Meeting and Pot Luck	6:30

At some point, the group’s name would be changed to the more grammatically correct “Liberty Bell Group” (losing the possessive).

August in A.A. History—day unknown

1936: Frank Buchman [left] traveled to Germany for the Olympic Games, feeling a heavy burden about Hitler’s actions there due to his deep attachment to the country and its people. While in Berlin, he shared his concerns with Danish journalist Jacob Kronika [right] at the Esplanade, stating,

Germany has come under the dominion of a terrible demoniac force. A counter-action is urgent. We must ask God for guidance and strength to start an anti-demoniac counter-action under the sign of the Cross of Christ in the democratic countries bordering on Germany, especially in the small neighbouring countries.

Upon arriving in Berlin, Moni von Cramon arranged for Buchman to attend a lunch hosted by a German diplomat and his wife, where Himmler

[left] would be present. Buchman hoped to secure an interview with Himmler, believing that through him, he could reach Hitler [right]. He managed to schedule an appointment for a few days later.

However, the “interview” turned out to be a complete disaster. Himmler had hoped to exploit the “absolute obedience” to God exhibited by Moral Re-Armament (MRA, formerly the Oxford Group) for the benefit of his followers in the S.S. and the Nazis, but he completely failed in this.

Younger colleagues who accompanied Buchman to the interview confirmed his account, reporting that Himmler entered with several henchmen, delivered a propagandistic speech about Nazism, and left without allowing Buchman or his associates to speak. Buchman’s immediate response was, “Here are devilish forces at work. We can’t do anything here.”

Ultimately, Buchman never met Hitler and did not make any further attempts to do so.

August 2 in A.A. History

1892: Lawrence Richmond “Rich” W. [right, as an adult] was born to Caroline and Joseph Richmond W. in Brookline, Massachusetts. He was the second of six children, with two brothers and three sisters.

In May 1942, Rich got sober and joined Alcoholics Anonymous. He self-published his book, Twenty-Four Hours a Day (also known as “The Little Black Book”) [left: cover and pages 2–3], in 1948. He later wrote For Drunks Only (1987) and The 7 Points of Alcoholics Anonymous (1989).

August in A.A. History—day unknown

1918: While his artillery regiment was delayed outside Winchester, Hampshire, England, by a minor epidemic among the troops, Bill W. [right: in France, 1919] walked alone to Winchester Cathedral. In his “Original Story”—actually the second draft of “Bill’s Story”—he would describe what happened:

I stood in Winchester Cathedral the day before crossing [into France] with head bowed, for something had touched me then I had never felt before. I had been wondering, in a rare moment of sober reflection, what sense there could be to killing and carnage of which I was soon to become an enthusiastic part. Where could the Deity be—could there be such a thing—Where now was the God of the preachers, the thought of which used to make me so uncomfortable when they talked about him. Here I stood on the edge of the abyss into which thousands were falling that very day. A feeling of despair settled down on me—where was He—why did he not come—and suddenly in that moment of darkness, He was there. I felt an all enveloping, comforting, powerful presence. Tears stood in my eyes, and as I looked about, I saw on the faces of others nearby, that they too had glimpsed the great reality. Much moved, I walked out into the Cathedral yard, where I read the following inscription on a tombstone [left]. “Here lies a Hampshire Grenadier, Who caught his death drinking small good beer—A good soldier is ne’er forgot, whether he dieth by musket or by pot.” A squadron of bombers swept overhead in the bright sunlight, and I cried to myself “Here’s to adventure” and the feeling of being in the great presence disappeared, never to return for many years.

1919: Bill and Lois W. embarked on a month-long walking tour, covering several hundred miles from Portland, Maine, through New Hampshire, to Rutland, Vermont [right: portion of 1916 map showing Portland and Rutland]. Lois encouraged this journey to provide them with time for reflection and to help Bill not to drink so heavily.

After leaving the Army, Bill found it difficult to adapt to civilian life, where drinking was typically confined to evenings and weekends, and moderation was expected. He struggled to find a job, where most of them demanded a consistent routine, performing the same tasks at the same time, in the same location, every day. He held various short-lived positions: decoding cablegrams for an exporter [far left: coded cablegram, 1917], clerking in the insurance department of the New York Central Railroad for Lois’s sister Barbara’s fiancé [right: office workers, 1920], and later driving spikes into planks on a pier for the railroad [near left: pier construction]. Not surprisingly, he either resigned or was dismissed from each of these jobs.

To calm his nerves and to escape into dreams of glory, Bill increasingly turned to alcohol, a habit he had developed in the Army. Now, however, he also drank to wallow in self-pity and nurse his resentments, often drinking until closing time, which frequently resulted in vomiting and blackouts.

1935: [Early September?] Phil S., A.A. #5, joined the Oxford Group’s “alcoholic squadron” in Akron, Ohio, where he likely met Bill W. just before Bill’s return to Brooklyn, New York. However, Phil did not achieve sobriety until weeks later, after undergoing the customary 8-day treatment at Akron City Hospital.

Upon Phil’s release, Ernie G. [right] picked him up to help search for his lost car, which Phil had misplaced while drunk. During this outing, Phil stopped “to get a milkshake” and returned drunk just 15 minutes later. Shortly thereafter, he was arrested as a vagrant and sentenced to 30 days in the workhouse.

At that time, Bill D. [far left], A.A. #3 and a practicing attorney, successfully persuaded the judge to release Phil into the custody of Dr. Bob S. [near left] under strict conditions. Phil, now A.A. #6, quickly agreed and was taken to a local drying-out facility. This event marked Alcoholics Anonymous’s first court case.

After one more slip two years later, Phil remained sober for the rest of his life.