July 31 in A.A. History

1879: John Henry Fitzhugh “Fitz” M. [right] was born in Chelsea, New Jersey, to Robert A. and Annie Taylor M.

1949: Charlie W. established Central Ohio's first interracial Alcoholics Anonymous group.

1949: A committee led by Bert P. established the Central Ohio Group Fellowship (COGF) and opened a new office. The COGF’s bylaws, primarily authored by Floyd W., Al B., and Harry C., were approved on the same day at Neil House in downtown Columbus. Reverend Faust provided spiritual guidance throughout this process, as he always did. Since its inception, the Central Ohio Group Fellowship has been dedicated to serving groups and members in need.

1952: Henrietta Seiberling [far left] handwrote an eight-page, double-sided letter to Clarence S. [near left]. It stated, in part [underlining in original]:

It looked for a while as if Bill W[—–] would like to crowd God out but we know that it is up to us to seek more & more of God’s power to help other people to know this way of Life & our fellowship. You certainly are doing your part & thank God, all those who have glimpsed the real vision are doing theirs. The joy of it is, to me, that those who have only been offered “the stone,” are so eager & grab at the “bread,” that we know we have to offer - as you say, it is appalling how little they have been offered by the would be “elder statesman” - but the 12 steps & the fact that, as Stanley Jones say, wherever man opens his mind to God, He re-
veals himself - they have helped the groping AA’s - who have been denied so much of the real “bread” - & given the “stone” of Bill W[—–]’s designs.

But, Clarence, I have made one big whale of a surrender of Bill & his schemes - & all thought of him & the possibilities of what harm he could do just left me in the most amazing way. I don’t have to try to “not think of him” again, I just don’t - He is completely consigned to God by me & I know He can handle him - We will be closely knit - even with his taking the money & trying to take the book. I am sure he will need our pity & compassion because he has put himself apart from the real fellowship - more and more I see that the 16th Chapter of Luke that I read in answer to my asking to understand Bill & what he was doing, illuminated the situation - He has put himself with the “children of darkness” - he has his henchmen & ingratiates himself with those in the dark - Let us keep ourselves “children of the Light” & keep serving God, instead of “Mammon.” Bill has made his choice - Read the chapter over.

I heard talk in Missouri 2 years ago about his connection with Sheen but I don’t imagine it is so. He imagines himself all kinds of things. His hand “writes” dictation from a Catholic priest, whose name I forget, from the 1600 period who was in Barcelona Spain - again, he told Horace C[—–], he was completing the work that Christ didn’t finish, & according to Horace he said he was a reincarnation of Christ. Perhaps he got mixed in whose reincarnation he was. It looks more like the works of the devil but I could be wrong. I don’t know what is going on in the poor deluded fellow’s mind.

He must be wistful. He asked Bill D[—–] if he knew where I was & Bill said “on Park Ave” & he said “Have you seen her”?

I learned from a Texas friend that a Chaplain in the prisons said the only way they really reached prisoners was thru Alcoholics Anonymous, even for the non alcoholic - so besides such things as that, Bill & his schemes pale into insignificance for us - I am sure.

We can stand by & see him claim the “glory” if we can keep the “power” to help transform lives - Thank God, you & so many others are still doing that.…

I saw Henry S[—–] in N.Y. - Bill D[—–] brought him over. Bill W. wouldn’t let him in the “convention.”…
As ever Faithfully
Henrietta

1970: Bernard B. Smith [right], 68, died of a heart attack at his home at 1165 Park Ave. in New York City. He was the longest-serving Trustee of Alcoholics Anonymous, holding the position from 1944 to 1970. Initially a member of the Alcoholic Foundation Board, he later became a Trustee of the General Service Board, serving as Chair from 1950 to 1956. Bill W. called him “the architect of A.A.’s general service structure.”

Earlier that month, due to Bill’s poor health, “Bern,” as he was commonly known, filled in for many of his scheduled appearances at the Fifth International Convention in Miami, Florida, which celebrated A.A.’s 35th anniversary.

1972: Ralston Burdett (Rollie) H. [left], known as “Rollickin’ Rollie,” died at 65 from a heart attack in Washington, D.C. The former catcher had an 18-year Major League Baseball career, earning five All-Star selections. Rollie played for several teams, including the Pittsburgh Pirates, Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Reds (twice), St. Louis Browns, Cleveland Indians, New York Yankees (with whom he won the World Series in 1943), and Philadelphia Athletics. After retiring as a player, he managed various minor-league teams and coached for the Washington Senators and Philadelphia Athletics.

Rollie’s struggles with alcohol were legendary, particularly during his time with the Indians. In 1939, during a train trip, he got drunk, poured water on a sleeping porter, threw lit matches into sleeping berths, and climbed into manager Oscar “Ossie” Vitt’s bed, blubbering incoherently. This led to his immediate suspension. In 1939, Indians General Manager Cy Slapnicka presented Rollie with a $1,500 [~$36,000 in 2026] diamond ring, saying it was a gift for Rollie’s daughter. Deeply moved, the tough catcher teared up and vowed to stop drinking. Slapnicka then arranged for him to meet with members of Alcoholics Anonymous, who promptly admitted him to the hospital. After four days, Rollie joined A.A., becoming its 77th member.

2002: The first meeting of the month-long Online Service Conference (OSC) concluded.

Representatives discussed several important issues affecting online A.A. groups, including how to establish an online group conscience, the internet publication of A.A. copyrighted documents, online anonymity, relationships with “face-to-face” A.A. bodies, and other relevant concerns.

The OSC representatives passed two actions:

• ratifying the Conference as beginning a general service structure for online A.A. and planning to meet again in January 2003;
• electing six members of a Steering Committee to stand for the Conference and prepare an agenda in the interim between meetings.

2003: The third meeting of the month-long Online Service Conference (OSC) concluded.

Two key actions were discussed: defining online A.A. groups and recommending that these groups provide representatives to the OSC for two-year terms. However, neither proposal achieved substantial unanimity, and both were referred for further study. Committees were formed to study the issues, and new members were elected to fill vacant positions on the Steering Committee.

As with the preceding session, no Online Advisory Actions were voted on during this third conference.

July 30 in A.A. History

1863: Company B, 14th Regiment of Vermont, Gardner Fayette Griffith's military unit [far left: Griffith], was mustered out of the Union Army in Brattleboro, Vermont, just weeks after its pivotal role [right: Monument to the 14th Vermont volunteer infantry regiment at Gettysburg] in the decisive victory over Robert E. Lee’s Confederate army at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania [near left: a Vermont soldier, c. 1863]. Griffith would later become Bill W.’s grandfather.

1945: Silas Bent, 63, died in a Stamford, Connecticut hospital after a year-long illness [near right: obituary, The Brooklyn (NY) Daily Eagle, 1 Aug 1945, p. 11; far right: gravestone]. He had been a very early member of Alcoholics Anonymous in New York City (A.A. #3 or #4) and, in January 1939, had written the first newspaper article ever published about the organization. However, he returned to drinking less than a year later.

1950: Attendees at A.A.’s 1st International Convention at the Cleveland Public Auditorium in Cleveland, Ohio, adopt the Twelve Traditions nearly unanimously.

1950: Dr. Bob Smith [left] made a brief appearance at A.A.’s 1st International Convention in Cleveland, Ohio, to deliver his final public remarks. His now-famous talk included the following:

There are two or three things that flashed into my mind on which it would be fitting to lay a little emphasis. One is the simplicity of our program. Let’s not louse it all up with Freudian complexes and things that are interesting to the scientific mind but have very little to do with our actual AA work. Our Twelve Steps, when simmered down to the last, resolve themselves into the words love and service.

A.A. History—month & day unknown

1948: [Late] George H., an Alcoholics Anonymous member from New York City, traveled across the United States, surveying A.A. groups about their views on self-governance. He visited Dr. Bob S., who was recovering from one of several surgeries since summer for his recently diagnosed cancer. After the visit, George sent a wire recording to Bill W. that included a brief message from Bob: “Surgery varies a good deal depending on whether you do it or whether it’s done to you.” He also reported on Bob’s condition—bedridden, losing weight, and given no more than six months to live.

George also shared the results of his survey, detailing the attitudes of old-timers in Chicago, Illinois; Cleveland, Ohio; and Akron, Ohio. He believed these groups were opposed to any changes, while the majority of the 370 groups he had personally visited across the country supported the idea of a conference. George noted that these old-timers felt more entitled to serve on committees than A.A. members elsewhere. They preferred a council of older members instead of a conference and believed that only the Twelve Steps should be emphasized, considering the Twelve Traditions too unwieldy.

Later, Bill W. would reflect on this conversation, possibly to Dr. Bob, saying,

I have just been having a long talk with George about the state of AA affairs throughout the country. And he has sharpened up to me, as he as doubtless did to you, the tremendous necessity of getting some sort of council organized which can relate the foundation to the AA groups. I also went over the internal situation here with George, and on the whole he is inclined to think that the changes suggested in the reorganization plan are really necessary for us here in New York before we start the formation of a council.

1948: [Late] Howard Alfred “Al” S. [right] became the second editor of the A.A. Grapevine, succeeding Tom Y. At that time, the magazine was not widely known across the U.S. or Canada. For many months, Al single-handedly wrote entire issues, signing each article with different initials and various locations. Al also transformed the A.A. Grapevine’s focus, shifting the editorial emphasis from stories about drinking to the theme of “You’re Not Drinking—Now What?”

July 29–August 2 in A.A. History

1971: A 21-member General Service Board (GSB) of Alcoholics Anonymous convened for the first time at the General Service Office in New York City. Following the election of nine new members at the April General Service Conference (GSC), the Board reached a 2:1 ratio of Class B (alcoholic) Trustees to Class A (non-alcoholic) Trustees. This milestone completed a reorganization initiated by the 1966 GSC and championed by Bill W. since before 1955. Historically, the GSB had always maintained a majority of non-alcoholic members. This 2:1 ratio has largely remained unchanged ever since [right: Report of the Trustees’ Nominating Committee to the 1971 GSC; all nominees were approved by the GSC Trustees’ Committee and elected by the GSC].

A.A. History—month & day unknown

1947: Excluded from meetings of Group Number One, Kansas City, Missouri’s only Alcoholics Anonymous group, African American and Black members started their own A.A. meeting: The Kansas City Interracial Group. This group welcomed anyone who wanted to stop drinking and eventually adopted the name The Paseo Group [left: Linwood United Church, 3151 Olive Street, current location of Paseo Group meetings, c. 2021].

1947: Ian MacE., New Zealand’s first A.A. member, had his initial 12th-Step success with Alf J. from Davenport [right: looking from Aukland across Waitemata Harbour to Davenport]. Alf’s brother-in-law, Dr. J. Caughey, a non-alcoholic, learned about A.A. through Ian’s efforts in Wellington. Caughey contacted Ian, who sent him his personal copy of the Big Book, Alcoholics Anonymous, along with other literature for Alf. Inspired by this, Alf became very active in spreading the A.A. message, holding meetings in his home and at his dental surgery office.

1948: Al S. [left] chaired a dinner, possibly in celebration of Bill W.’s anniversary. Bill attended with his wife, Lois, along with Dr. Bob and Anne S. Al was so excited that he couldn’t remember Dr. Bob’s name.

1948: The first permanent A.A. group in Richmond, Virginia—started in 1941 with 5 members—reported 82 members.

1948: An unidentified member of Alcoholics Anonymous explained the program’s principles on WNBC’s critically acclaimed “Tex and Jinx Show”^* (originally titled “Hi, Jinx” and later “Meet Tex and Jinx”). This morning interview and variety radio show, broadcast nationwide at the time, featured serious discussions of world affairs alongside celebrity interviews.

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^* The hosts were husband and wife John Reagan “Tex” McCrary and Eugenia Lincoln “Jinx” Falkenburg [right]. Tex was a graduate of Exeter and Yale, while Jinx was a model, actress, and expert in tennis and swimming. One reporter called them “Mr. Brains and Mrs. Beauty.” They dedicated most of their airtime to exploring lofty concepts, engaging guests, and sidebars. The show was “built on the assumption that the early morning audience was not stupid, as programmers generally assumed; that people in general had fresher minds and were more open to serious topics at the beginning of the day.”

A.A. History—year, month & day unknown

1947–48: Bill W. began to consider the implications for Alcoholics Anonymous as a whole of the eventual deaths of its old-timers. As a result, he started developing what became the Conference Plan, but he would face strong opposition from virtually all sides.

Late 1940s: The National Committee for Education on Alcoholism (NCEA) moved its office from New Haven, Connecticut, to the New York Academy of Medicine [left, recent], 2 East 103rd Street in New York City.

A.A. History—Date Unknown

Month & day unknown

1945: Bob Valentine, an A.A. member from the U.S., was in Rio de Janeiro [left: aerial view, 1945], Brazil, when he met another American named Lynn Goodale. After their conversation, Lynn decided to get sober. Upon returning to the U.S., Bob shared Lynn’s contact information from Brazil with the Alcoholic Foundation office in New York City, most likely with Bobbie Burger, who was A.A.’s National Secretary at that time.

1946: The New York Intergroup published its first list [right] of A.A. meetings in and around New York City. The list included a total of 30 meetings held each week, comprising 20 open meetings, 9 closed meetings, and 3 luncheons “for A.A. members, friends and guests.”

1946: Drs. C. Dudley Saul [far left] and C. Nelson Davis [near left] opened the first private alcohol treatment center in the United States, known as the C. Dudley Saul Clinic, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Dr. Davis assumed the role of Physician-in-Charge. After Dr. Saul’s death in 1947, Dr. Davis relocated the clinic to Malvern, Pennsylvania, renaming it The Malvern Institute. The institute still provides treatment for alcoholics to this day.

1946: The first permanent A.A. group in Richmond, Virginia, founded in 1941, opened spacious clubrooms on Grace Street.

1946: Judson B. made the initial inquiry from Alaska to the Alcoholic Foundation office in New York City after he read about A.A. in a Reader’s Digest article. Despite his efforts, Jud was unable to stay sober. In the same year, the Sourdough Group was started in Anchorage [right, 1945] by Jay B. and Shielan R., the first A.A. group in the state with a membership peaking at six individuals. Regretably, the majority of members were transient, and Shielan, who was one of them, eventually left for the lower 48 states, resulting in the group disbanding.

Year, month & day unknown

c. 1945: When Dr. Bob S.’s son, Lt. Robert R. “Smitty” S. [far left, at Mount Farm, England, after his first combat mission, June 1943], returned from military service in World War II, A.A. member Paul S. [near left] helped him secure a job as a service manager at a car dealer-ship in Cleveland, Ohio.

c. 1945: During World War II, a deserter from a U.S. warship that had docked in Cape Town, South Africa arrived, “quite by chance,” at Imperial Military Hospital, Baragwanath (later renamed Johannesburg General Hospital) [right, c. 1930–45].^* He was “drunk as a lord and with a suitcase, inside of which was nothing but AA [Alcoholics Anonymous] literature from the US.” Although the fate of the deserter remains unknown, Sister Maxwell, a Catholic nurse “who maintained alcoholic ward” at that hospital, “accepted without conflict the newish concept that it [alcoholism] is a disease.” She “held on to and used” this literature “to form her own style of AA.” Sister Maxwell, despite not being an alcoholic herself, deeply empathized with those who were. Her method “helped several dozen alcoholics to sobriety on this basis.”

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^* The distance, in a straight line, from Cape Town’s harbour to the Imperial Military Hospital is 775.26 miles (1,247.66 kilometers).

July 25 in A.A. History

1943: American Weekly published the third installment of a three-part series by Genevieve Parkhurst [left], titled “ALCOHOLISM—Laymen Join Science to Cure It.” The first two pages [right] spanned approximately 5 ft2: 32" × 22" [~½ m2: 81 × 56 cm]. The article continued across several additional pages and generated roughly 1,100 inquiries to the Alcoholic Foundation office in New York City.

1947: The U.S. House of Representatives District Committee published a conference report titled “Rehabilitation of chronic alcoholics in District of Columbia” to accompany H.R. 2659 (an “act to establish program 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”). The bill was signed into law by President Harry S. Truman on 4 August. During the hearings on this bill, Julius S., a member of the Cosmopolitan Group in Washington, D.C., had testified.

A.A. History—month & day unknown

1944: The first New Jersey-based Intergroup was established in a modest space on the second floor of the Alanon Club [right, 1940s], at the corner of 7th Street and 7th Avenue in Roseville, New Jersey (formerly the Roseville Athletic Club). The office was sparsely furnished with a desk, a few chairs, and a telephone. Prior to this, New Jersey groups had been operating from the A.A. Clubhouse at 334½ W. 24th Street in Manhattan.

Henry “Hank” T. Tesch became the first full-time paid secretary of the New Jersey Intergroup office, serving from 1946 to 1949 [left: minutes of the special meeting at which Hank was elected]. The Intergroup requested a monthly contribution from groups of 50¢ per member, in line with the unwritten tradition of self-support among A.A. groups at that time. Despite some groups having thirty or more members, Intergroup typically received only $5–10 [~$95–190 in 2026] a month from each group. This amount was barely enough to keep the office running, but it set the important precedent that New Jersey A.A. groups would support their Intergroup office.

1944: [Late] The Manhattan Group relocated to what had been Knox Memorial Chapel [right] at 405 W. 41st St., where A.A. members converted the space into a clubhouse named the Cosmopolitan Club.

1945: The first permanent A.A. group in Richmond, Virginia, founded in 1941, held its first public meeting, which drew a large crowd.

1945: Theresa “Teddy” R., a recovering alcoholic, learned about the nineteen-bed alcoholic ward on the third floor of Knickerbocker Hospital [left] and felt a strong calling to work there. She persistently contacted the supervising nurse for three months until she secured the job. Dr. William D. Silkworth [right], in charge of the unit, praised Teddy as a “red-headed powerhouse.” From 1945 onwards, Teddy treated over 5,000 alcoholics, while Silkworth cared for approximately 7,000 patients, before his death from a heart attack at his Manhattan residence in 1951.

July 24 in A.A. History

1969: Bill W. [near right, 1966], the founder of Alcoholics Anonymous, and Marty M. [right center, 1964], the founder of the National Council on Alcoholism, testified before the United States Senate Special Subcommittee on Alcoholism and Narcotic. This subcommittee, part of the Committee on Labor and Public Welfare, was chaired by Senator Harold E. Hughes [far right, c. 1969-1975], who was himself an alcoholic. All three were known for publicly breaking their anonymity.

Today in A.A. History—July 24–26

1992: A “Freedom in Sobriety” event, themed “Living in the Answer”—a reference from the Big Book—took place at the Best Western Executive Inn in Tacoma/Fife, Washington [left: Emerald Queen Hotel & Casino in Fife, formerly the Best Western Executive Inn].

A.A. History—year, month & day unknown

≥1942: The Charleston Group of Alcoholics Anonymous in West Virginia planned to establish what Bill W. termed an “all-purpose” foundation, envisioning a comprehensive center that would include a club, hospital, rehabilitation facility, and research center. They sought Bill’s opinion directly through the Alcoholic Foundation Office in New York City. Bill responded by sharing his experience, cautioning that most similar undertakings had not succeeded. Despite his advice, the group decided to proceed with their plans.

Soon after, the Alcoholic Foundation began receiving troubling correspondence from West Virginia regarding the local foundation’s progress. One of the alcoholics who had conceived the idea for the foundation sent cards in small envelopes to groups nationwide. Each card bore the inscription “Charleston AA Group Rule #62,” implying 61 preceding rules. Inside, he had written, “Don’t take yourself so damn seriously!”

Late 1943–early 1944:  Lois W. visited Little Rock, Arkansas, as part of a nationwide tour with her husband, Bill. Regarding a public meeting there, Lois later quipped:

The Little Rock, Arkansas group was so anonymous that the leader, Bud G., spoke from behind a curtain to the audience of 1,200. But Bill spoke from the open platform.

A.A. History—month & day unknown

1943: The first Alcoholics Anonymous group in Arlington, Virginia, was established in North Arlington, likely by Bill A. This group became the mother group for others in the region. Bill A. also collaborated with Fitz M. and Hardin C. to launch A.A. in Washington, D.C.

1944: Jack W., along with five other members, founded the first permanent A.A. group in Richmond, Virginia. He reported that 20 regular members were meeting at the William Byrd Hotel [right].

1944: [Summer?] Bill W. delivered a talk titled “The Fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous” at the Yale School of Alcohol Studies. The talk was followed by a Q&A session, which concluded with the following exchange:

Q: If an alcoholic comes to an A.A. meeting under the influence of alcohol, how do you treat him or handle him during the meeting itself?

A: Groups will run usually run amuck [sic] on that sort of question. At first we are likely to say that we’re going to be supermen and save every drunk in town. The fact is that a great many of them just don’t want to stop. They come, but they interfere very greatly with the meeting. Then, being still rather intolerant, the group will swing way over in the other direction and say, “No drunks around these meetings.” We get forcible with them and put them out of the meeting, saying, “You’re welcome here if your [sic] sober.” But the general rule in most places is that if a person comes for the first or second time and can sit quietly in the meeting, without creating an uproar, nobody bothers him. On the other hand, if he’s a chronic “slipper” and interferes with the meetings, we lead him out gently, or maybe not so gently, on the theory that one man cannot be permitted to hold up the recovery of others. The theory is “the greatest good for the greatest number.”

July 23 in A.A. History

1940: The Philadelphia Group of A.A. set a precedent for the 7th Tradition by contributing 10% of their funds to the Alcoholic Foundation.

1943: Clarence S. and four other members of Alcoholics Anonymous 12th-stepped Esther C. into sobriety while she was hospitalized in Cleveland, Ohio, just two months after her 34th birthday. She became known for riding her “Little Indian Scout” motorcycle [right: Esther on her bike] from Cleveland to meetings in Akron, Ohio. 

Sixty-some years later, when informed that someone from California was coming to ask her about A.A. history and the Big Book, Esther quipped, “What’s the matter with him, doesn’t he have a Big Book?”

1946: Bill W. wrote a note [far left] to Ricardo “Dick” P. [near left] to thank him for translating Alcoholics Anonymous into Spanish. It read:

Dick, an A.A. member since 1940, had worked for three years with his wife, Helen, on this translation.

1985: Loran D. Archer [left], Senior Policy Advisor on Alcoholism and Other Health Issues at the Drug Abuse Policy Office during President Ronald Reagan’s administration, wrote to Mr. Hal M., an A.A. member in Arlington, Virginia. He enclosed 12 copies of the President’s message to A.A.’s 50th International Convention. He also noted his pleasure with the “resounding ovation” received when Bob P. read this message to the Convention. Unfortunately, whatever response the President's message might stimulate, it wouldn't be known for at least 11 days; the letter [right] was dated 24 June; the Convention would be held 5–7 July in Montreal, Quebec.

Today in A.A. History—July 23–25

1976: The 19th International Conference of Young People in Alcoholics Anonymous (ICYPAA) took place in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania [left: letter from U.S. V.P. Nelson Rockefeller; right: Conference SWAG].