1940: The Alcoholic Foundation responded to Margaret D. of Seattle,
Washington, who had written to them about her husband on February 11, nearly
a month earlier. She would later play a role—though details are scarce—in
the establishment of Seattle’s first A.A. group.
1942: In a letter to the Adjutant General of the U.S. Army, Bill W. requested a commission “as a procurement or quartermaster officer, or to engage in some form of intelligence or morale work.” Bill
[left]
cited his service “in the World War [I] as an artillery officer” and his
employment from 1920 to 1924 in “the insurance department of The New York
Central Railroad” and at “The U.S. Fidelity & Guaranty Co.... as a
criminal investigator.” He described his road travels from 1925 to 1930,
often with Lois, as an independent field investigator “of large industrial
companies, a role that, he detailed, demanded specific skills and knowledge
and provided him with an “income [that] ranged from $5,000 to $20,000
[~$92,600–388,000 in 2026] annually.” Summarizing his pre-A.A. period, Bill
noted, “From 1931 to 1934 my earning power was poor due to depression and
other causes.”
In 1934, his “interest in the cure of alcoholism... resulted in my becoming the founder of... Alcoholics Anonymous, which has since made possible the recovery of some 5000 cases of alcoholism of the most acute kind.” He predicted that A.A. “will probably clear up some 5000 new cases during the current year” and noted that A.A. was “nationally known through much newspaper and magazine publicity” and “enjoys the highest medical standing as well.” His added that his book, Alcoholics Anonymous, “earns him about $7000 [~$139,000 in 2026] annually.” He also noted, “In addition, I have handled the public relations of [A.A.]..., have done a very large amount of personal work with individuals, and am an experienced public speaker.”
Finally, he provided four business references—Frank Shaw, Dick Johnson (of Greenshields & Co.), Clayton Quaw (of Quaw & Foley), and Rudolph Eberstadt—and two personal references: Willard Richardson and John Wood, the lawyer who had established the Alcoholic Foundation and both non-alcoholic Alcoholic Foundation Trustees.
1948: During the Nevada-Northern California A.A. Conference, the San Francisco Examiner published an interview [right] with Bill W. The article, titled “AA Founder Tells Effort To Rescue Young Drinkers,” was subtitled “Alcohol Addicts Must Have Real Desire To Help Selves, ‘Bill’ Says in S. F.”
1942: In a letter to the Adjutant General of the U.S. Army, Bill W. requested a commission “as a procurement or quartermaster officer, or to engage in some form of intelligence or morale work.” Bill
[left]
cited his service “in the World War [I] as an artillery officer” and his
employment from 1920 to 1924 in “the insurance department of The New York
Central Railroad” and at “The U.S. Fidelity & Guaranty Co.... as a
criminal investigator.” He described his road travels from 1925 to 1930,
often with Lois, as an independent field investigator “of large industrial
companies, a role that, he detailed, demanded specific skills and knowledge
and provided him with an “income [that] ranged from $5,000 to $20,000
[~$92,600–388,000 in 2026] annually.” Summarizing his pre-A.A. period, Bill
noted, “From 1931 to 1934 my earning power was poor due to depression and
other causes.”In 1934, his “interest in the cure of alcoholism... resulted in my becoming the founder of... Alcoholics Anonymous, which has since made possible the recovery of some 5000 cases of alcoholism of the most acute kind.” He predicted that A.A. “will probably clear up some 5000 new cases during the current year” and noted that A.A. was “nationally known through much newspaper and magazine publicity” and “enjoys the highest medical standing as well.” His added that his book, Alcoholics Anonymous, “earns him about $7000 [~$139,000 in 2026] annually.” He also noted, “In addition, I have handled the public relations of [A.A.]..., have done a very large amount of personal work with individuals, and am an experienced public speaker.”
Finally, he provided four business references—Frank Shaw, Dick Johnson (of Greenshields & Co.), Clayton Quaw (of Quaw & Foley), and Rudolph Eberstadt—and two personal references: Willard Richardson and John Wood, the lawyer who had established the Alcoholic Foundation and both non-alcoholic Alcoholic Foundation Trustees.
1948: During the Nevada-Northern California A.A. Conference, the San Francisco Examiner published an interview [right] with Bill W. The article, titled “AA Founder Tells Effort To Rescue Young Drinkers,” was subtitled “Alcohol Addicts Must Have Real Desire To Help Selves, ‘Bill’ Says in S. F.”
No comments:
Post a Comment