February 23 in A.A. History

In 1940, John D. Rockefeller Jr. wrote a letter to Bill W., expressing his regret for being too ill to attend the recent dinner for A.A. “the other night [Feb 8],” where his son Nelson had stepped in as host.

In 1948, The Deseret News of Salt Lake City, Utah, published a nearly full-page article titled “Photographic Series Depicts Work of Alcoholics Anonymous.” The piece featured photographs and text showcasing the efforts and impact of Alcoholics Anonymous.

In 1959, Alcoholics Anonymous received “Recording for the Blind” permission^* to create an audio recording of the Big Book, Alcoholics Anonymous, through the Recording for the Blind & Dyslexic (RFB&D), now known as Learning Ally.

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^* Since A.A. has always had the right to produce audio versions of its own literature, it is unclear why this permission was obtained.

In 1978, H. Alfred “Al” S. [left], 74, died in West Palm Beach, Florida. He had served A.A. as Director of the New York Intergroup Association, Class B (alcoholic) Trustee (January 1958–April 1961), director of A.A. Publishing Inc., director of A.A. Grapevine, Inc., and editor of the A.A. Grapevine (1948–1952). He was also the author of the Responsibility Declaration and the Declaration of Unity.

    His mother, Ella Marks Wenrick, had been the secretary to Emmet Fox. As a result, Bill W., Ebby T., Al, and others regularly attended Fox’s talks in New York City, often securing mezzanine seats.

In 2021, Pastor John Baker, co-founder of the Christ-centered (and non-A.A.) program Celebrate Recovery,  died. 

February in A.A. History (day unknown)

In 1968, the first openly gay Alcoholics Anonymous group, the Friday Night Fell Street Group in San Francisco, California [right: meeting location of the group, 261 Fell Street, 2007], was founded by gay alcoholics for gay alcoholics. It was held in a public venue and openly publicized as a gay meeting both within and outside of A.A. In 1975, the Fell Group became one of the first gay groups to be listed in the A.A. World Directory and was eventually included in San Francisco’s local directory as a gay meeting.