November 3 in A.A. History

In 1938, enclosing the latest chapters for the proposed, yet-to-be-named book (which would become Alcoholics Anonymous [right: 1st ed., 2nd printing]), Bill W. wrote to Dr. Bob S. for the third time, seeking feedback from the members of the Akron, Ohio, “Alcoholic  Squadron.” He urged Dr. Bob to encourage the Ohio members to “speak up or forever hold their peace” regarding the drafts he had been sending. It turned out that Dr. Bob had not shared any of these drafts with the other Akron members.
    Bill added that he hoped “to get out there about December first for a week or two so we can cover these matters better.” However, the ongoing writing and editing of the book ultimately prevented Bill from making that trip.

 

In 1941, at 8:00 p.m., the first Alcoholics Anonymous meeting in Columbus, Ohio, took place in the basement of the Downtown YMCA [left, c. 1926] at 40 W. Long St., with six attendees.

In 1975, Lois W.  [near right] , Bill’s widow, and Tom S.  [right, 2nd from left]  cut a blue ribbon to officially open the A.A. Archives at the General Service Office (GSO) in New York City. In attendance were Nell Wing  [right, 2nd from right], non-alcoholic archivist; Dr. John Norris  [far right], non-alcoholic chair of the Board of Trustees; Lois; George G., Class B (alcoholic) trustee and chair of the Trustees’ Archives Committee; Tom S., former Class B (alcoholic) trustee and former chair of the Archives Committee at large; other trustees; GSO and A.A. Grapevine staff; and a few overseas guests.

    The opening speaker called for “a minimum of myth about A.A. and its co-founders.” Dr. Norris emphasized that A.A. can continually renew itself by returning to its source. He recalled Bill’s frequent admonition that the Board and GSO should document everything they do. Both George and Lois paid special tribute to Nell Wing. Lois reminisced about the early days of A.A. on Clinton Street in Brooklyn during the 1930s. She noted that most of the early records were not saved, partly because their importance was not recognized, but mostly because “we were just too busy trying to help alcoholics and their families.” Lois added that Bill appreciated the theoretical significance of these records, “but he wasn’t very good at doing anything about it.” After the “usual closing” (i.e., the Lord’s Prayer), food and coffee were served. Then came the big laugh of the day: everyone realized that the opening of the archives had not been recorded for posterity! [Leftt: the A.A. Archives, Winter 2022.]