1842: On the 110th anniversary of George Washington’s birth, Abraham
Lincoln
[left: 2004 painting by Ned Bittinger]
addressed the Springfield, Illinois, Washingtonian Society. At the age of
33, he advocated for “kind, unassuming persuasion” instead of the more
forceful temperance efforts of the past. He stated,
1884: William “Willie” Seabrook [near
right, 1931]
was born. His memoir, Asylum: An Alcoholic Takes the Cure
[center right], would later be cited by Marty M.
[far right, 1938]
in her story “Women Suffer Too,” which appears in the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th
editions of the Big Book, Alcoholics Anonymous.
1949: The Anniston Star, based in Anniston, Alabama, reported
[article left]
on the 3-year anniversary celebration of the Anniston Group, which took
place this evening in their downtown clubhouse (address not provided). The
headline read, “AA Anniversary Here,” and the event was open to all.
When [we] all… first opened our eyes upon the stage of existence, we found intoxicating liquor, recognized by everybody, used by every body, and repudiated by nobody.
If we take habitual drunkards as a class, their heads and their hearts will bear an advantageous comparison with those of any other class. There seems ever to have been proneness in the brilliant and warm-blooded to fall into this vice. The demon of intemperance ever seems to have delighted in sucking the blood of genius and of generosity.… He ever seems to have gone forth, like the Egyptian angel of death, commissioned to slay if not the first, the fairest born of every family.…
Happy day, when, all appetites controlled, all poisons subdued, all matter subjected, mind, all conquering mind, shall live and move the monarch of the world. Glorious consummation! Hail fall of Fury! Reign of Reason, all hail!
1884: William “Willie” Seabrook [near
right, 1931]
was born. His memoir, Asylum: An Alcoholic Takes the Cure
[center right], would later be cited by Marty M.
[far right, 1938]
in her story “Women Suffer Too,” which appears in the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th
editions of the Big Book, Alcoholics Anonymous.
1949: The Anniston Star, based in Anniston, Alabama, reported
[article left]
on the 3-year anniversary celebration of the Anniston Group, which took
place this evening in their downtown clubhouse (address not provided). The
headline read, “AA Anniversary Here,” and the event was open to all.
No comments:
Post a Comment