July 5 in A.A. History

In 1946, in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, an unusually large crowd of 50 to 60 people attended the weekly 7 p.m. Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, which was exclusively for alcoholics and which was ironically held in a pub that had lost its license. Among the attendees, six or seven were visibly drunk, but they went largely unnoticed. Recently, a group of men had been regularly attending the meetings—sometimes sober, sometimes intoxicated—moving from person to person in search of cigarettes and spare change. They made no effort to follow the 12 Steps and often disrupted the gathering. For the first time, those genuinely seeking sobriety followed the advice of the non-alcoholic founders of A.A. in Australia, opting not to give these men money or help them in any way. Consequently, none of the moochers returned for the following two weeks.

In 1970, at the 5th International Convention [right] in Miami, Florida, Bill W., despite struggling with soon-to-be fatal emphysema, wanted desperately to deliver two major talks and participate in several other meetings throughout the four-day event. However, he fell ill on the first night and was unable to attend until a surprise appearance at the closing session on Sunday morning, July 5, where he gave his very brief “Last Talk.”

In 1990, at A.A.’s 9th International Convention and 55th anniversary celebration in Seattle, Washington, the 10,000,000th copy of the Big Book, Alcoholics Anonymous, was presented to Nellie “Nell” Wing [left, later in life], who was Bill W.’s longtime non-alcoholic secretary and A.A.’s first archivist. 

    Nell [right, c. 1945] later described the event as a sort of homecoming for herself, stating,

I had spent 1944-46 in Seattle (the 13th Naval District) as a member of SPARS, the Women’s Coast Guard Reserve, in the basement of the Olympic Hotel. There was a large bar and dining room which we called the “snake pit” and where many of us, along with the Coast Guard and Navy guys, did a bit of off-duty drinking. One night I got involved in an all-night drinking spree and next morning, up before my Executive Officer, was “awarded” a captain’s mast^* and sentenced to a brief confinement in my quarters (the “brig” was full). I was allowed out once a day, accompanied by a shore patrol Now, 44 years later, here I was in Seattle again and the recipient of the 10 millionth copy of the Big Book. No words can adequately express my deep gratitude to this beloved Fellowship and my cherished friends therein.

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^*A captain's mast is a form of nonjudicial punishment used in the U.S. Navy and Coast Guard to address minor offenses committed by service members. It is conducted by the commanding officer, who investigates the alleged misconduct, holds a hearing, and determines whether to impose disciplinary measures. It is less formal than a court-martial and does not result in a criminal conviction

Today in A.A. History—July 5–7

In 1985, approximately 50,000 people attended the 8th International Convention in Montreal, Quebec, celebrating A.A.’s 50th anniversary [left]. Planning had been for only 28,000 attendees. As a result, downtown hotel rooms quickly filled up, and previously unused motels at the airports and in surrounding communities were pressed into service. Attendees were also accommodated in university dormitories and Laurentian resorts, with some even placed as far away as Sherbrooke (90 miles [~145 km]) and Burlington, Vermont (75 miles [~121 km]). A Seagram distillery stood across from the Palais des Congrès, the large new convention center where many events took place, with its flag flying at half-staff throughout the Convention!

Today in A.A. History—July 5–8

In 1990, an estimated 48,000 people attended A.A.’s 9th International Convention in Seattle, Washington, celebrating the organization’s 55th anniversary [right]. The theme of the event was “55 Years—One Day At A Time.” Participants came from seventy-five countries, including, for the first time, nations from the former Soviet Union.