A.A. History in November—day unknown

In 1934, Rev. Dr. Samuel M. Shoemaker III [right, c. 1940] wrote in his personal diary:

A significant thing… met Bill W――.

Note that this was the month before Bill W.’s final stay at Towns Hospital.

In 1934 [late], while staying at the Calvary Rescue Mission [left] in New York City, Edwin “Ebby” T. [near right] learned about the drinking problem of his old schoolmate, Bill W. [far right, late 1930s]. Ebby called Bill (or his wife Lois), who invited him over for dinner. During his visit, Ebby shared his recovery experience, “one alcoholic talking to another.” Although Bill, who was intoxicated at the time, and Ebby, who was sober, later had very different recollections of this key event, Lois’s brief account—not surprisingly—generally aligned with Bill’s.

      Earlier in the year, while in Vermont, Rowland Hazard, III [far left] and Francis Shepard “Shep” Cornell [near left] had introduced Ebby to the Oxford Group. Later, Rowland had taken Ebby to the Calvary Rescue Mission.

In 1935, John Henry Fitzhugh “Fitz” M. [right] was discharged from Towns Hospital and became the third person to get sober and join A.A. in New York, following Hank Parkhurst and Bill Ruddell. His story, “Our Southern Friend,” would appear in all four editions of the Big Book, Alcoholics Anonymous.
    A “blue blood” from Maryland and the son of an Episcopalian minister, Fitz was said to be quite handsome, with chiseled features and the quiet, easy charm of the landed gentry. He embodied the qualities of a true Southern gentleman. Lois W. described Fitz as an impractical, lovable dreamer. His intellectual and scholarly traits gave him common ground with Bill W., who—like Fitz—was also a dreamer.
    Alcoholism may have run in his mother’s family. Although they never drank at home, Fitz discovered during his first drink in college that it alleviated his fears and sense of inferiority. He had attempted to enlist during World War I but could not pass the physical examination, which further contributed to his feelings of inadequacy. He had held a good job with a large corporation until the onset of the Great Depression. Subsequently, he had worked various jobs—as a traveling salesman, teacher, and farmer—but he couldn’t stop drinking. He had been drunk during significant moments: when his mother-in-law died, when his own mother died, and when his child was born. His wife had heard about Towns Hospital in New York City and urged him to go; he eventually agreed.

In 1937, the first challenge Bill W. [left, 1930s] and Hank P. [right] faced with the project of writing a book about A.A.—what would eventually become our Big Book, Alcoholics Anonymous—was funding. The United States was still in the throes of the Great Depression; overseas, the specter of another world war loomed. The two men spent the entire month trying to raise funds for the book, to no avail.

In 1949, the shortened form of the Twelve Traditions was first printed in the A.A. Grapevine [right: cover]. Two changes in wording were made later: “primary spiritual aim” was changed to “primary purpose” in Tradition Six, and “principles above personalities” was changed to “principles before personalities” in Tradition Twelve.
    The entire Grapevine issue was dedicated to the Traditions in anticipation of the 1st International Convention in Cleveland, Ohio, in June 1950, where Bill W. would seek approval^* of these Traditions. In the same issue, in an article titled “A Suggestion for Thanksgiving,” Bill pointed readers to an article by Tom Y. (the immediate past editor of the Grapevine), “You Have a Stake in the Future of AA.” He suggested that Thanksgiving^† week be dedicated to discussing the Traditions and added, “If the groups respond positively to this idea, special material on the Traditions will be sent out from the General Service Office to all groups.”
    The replies were overwhelmingly in favor. As a result, November became known as Traditions Month and later as Gratitude Month.

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^*When Bill presented the Traditions for approval in Cleveland, he omitted Tradition 10. In Alcoholics Anonymous Comes of Age, p. 102, Bill wrote Tradition 3 as “The only requirement for A.A. membership is a sincere desire to stop drinking” [emphasis added].
^†This reference clearly was taken to pertain to the United States Thanksgiving holiday. Might it not have been better for a U.S./Canada general service structure to alternate between this and the Canadian Thanksgiving holiday, on the second Monday in October?

In 1950, the Alcoholic Foundation in New York City published the pamphlet [left] titled “Your Third Legacy: Will You Accept It?” by Dr. Bob S. and Bill W. This pamphlet outlined the plans and procedures for the General Service Conference and included a “Temporary Conference Charter” with “Twelve Suggested Principles.” Below are edited excerpts from the pamphlet regarding elections.

    The Alcoholic Foundation invited one Conference delegate from each State and Canadian Province. Seven states with large AA populations were assigned additional delegates. Delegates were divided into two Panels so that half would be elected and half would rotate in odd and even numbered years. Panel 1 areas were asked to form a committee to organize an election assembly no later than March 1951. Bill W traveled across the US attending over two dozen assemblies electing area committees and Conference Delegates.
    Each group could select a Group Representative to attend and vote at the assembly. Group Representatives later came to be called “General Service Representatives” or GSRs. They placed an “A” next to their name in the assembly registration book to indicate they were “available to serve” as a Committeeman or Delegate. Nominations were not accepted from the floor and elections were by written ballot.
    The Area Delegate, Officers and Committeemen were chosen by election or by lot or combination of both for terms of two years and took office in April following their election.

1. To begin, the assembly decided by simple majority the number of Committeemen to be elected. Committeemen later came to be called “Committee Members” and then “District Committee Members” (or DCMs). Elections were decided by plurality. The first three Committeemen elected from the pool of those “willing to serve“ automatically became the Area Chair, Treasurer and Secretary in that order. The newly elected Chair immediately presided over the remainder of the assembly. All new Committeemen and Officers were automatically in nomination for Delegate (unless they declined).
2. For the Delegate election, the assembly was asked if it was willing to make a single attempt to elect a Delegate by written ballot. If 2/3 agreed, a ballot was cast. If the assembly declined to vote for a Delegate by written ballot, or if the single attempted vote failed to produce a 2/3 majority, the election was decided by lot (“from the hat”).
3. The Chair then opened the assembly for discussion. Questions on the General Service Conference, or instructions to be given to the Delegate, were brought to the floor. Initially, Delegates were both informed and instructed. The Chair closed the assembly after announcing the date and location where the Delegate would make a post-Conference report. The Secretary recorded the results and prepared a written report of the assembly proceedings.

In 2005 , the first Mongolian conference of the Eastern Region focused on the theme “From 2 Steps to 12 Steps.” The participants began to realize “we had to work with 12 steps,” a practice that was not widely adopted. Additionally, they were not adhering to the Twelve Tradition [left: Нэргүй архичид, Mongolian for “Alcoholics Anonymous;” right: Mongolian A.A. logo superimposed over the Mongolian flag].