1934: Having gotten sober on 7 June 1933, at the Keswick Colony of
Mercy
[right]
in Whiting, New Jersey, James “Jim” R. returned to Baltimore, Maryland.
This religious recovery mission had helped him maintain sobriety for over
ten months. Therefore, when Bill W. got sober, Jim had already been sober
for a year and a half.
Upon his return, his wife, mindful of his
past behavior, insisted he stay sober for a full year before moving back
into their home at 2936 St. Paul Street
[left]. He spent the next year living with his brother and began working with
other alcoholics. Eventually, he would reunite with his family.
In 1940, he would co-found Alcoholics Anonymous in Baltimore.
1939:
On April 16, 1939, Ralston Burdett “Rollie” H.
[right]
got sober and became the 77th member of Alcoholics Anonymous. He was major
league baseball player for the Cleveland Indians, so to protect his
identity, Dr. Bob S. admitted him to a hospital in Akron under an assumed
name. Rollie’s drinking problem had already led to his leaving four other
teams four other teams over the prior decade: the Pittsburgh Pirates,
Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Reds, and St. Louis Browns.
Earlier, Indians’ general manager C.C. “Cy”
Slapnicka
[left]
had given Rollie a $1,500 diamond ring for his daughter, a gesture that
helped motivate him to address his alcoholism. Adding to this, Indians’
owner Bill Veeck
[right] had offered $1,500 [~$35,000
in 2026]
to anyone who could help Rollie get sober; Dr. Bob declined the
reward.
1940: Ruth Hock replied to a letter forwarded by John D. Rockefeller, Jr. to the Alcoholic Foundation in New York City. It was from Dave W. of Seattle, Washington, who had written to Rockefeller on 28 March, likely after reading reports about the 8 February dinner Rockefeller hosted for Alcoholics Anonymous. This exchange initiated a long correspondence between Hock and Dave, who later became one of the three founders of Seattle’s first A.A. group.
1940: On his one-year sober anniversary, Rollie H. caught an opening day
no-hitter—the first since 1909, pitched by Bob Feller
[right, c. 1940]—and drove in Cleveland’s only run with a triple. The occasion prompted him
to break his anonymity (there were no traditions or customs regarding
anonymity at the time). His story was reported nationwide, and because his
alcoholism was already a matter of public record, his sobriety became big
news, at least on the sports pages
[left: one such article].
1945: Eliot Taintor’s novel about Alcoholics Anonymous,
September Remember
[right: cover], was published by Prentice-Hall. Chapter XXI, “Boomerang,” was serialized
in the March and April 1945 issues of the A.A. Grapevine under the
titles “The Pleasures of Pre-Publication Reading” and “from ‘September
Remember’: a Novel about A.A.,” respetively. The name “Eliot Taintor,” which
the A.A. Grapevine described as “a writing team, one of whom is an
A.A.,” was actually a pseudonym for the married couple Ruth F. and Gregory
M.
1973: At the White House, Dr. Jack Norris, Chair of the General Service Board, presented [left] President Richard Nixon with the one-millionth copy of Alcoholics Anonymous.
2005: Nancy F., 97, died in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, after 57 years of
sobriety
[right: gravestone]. At age 38, struggling with alcohol, she joined Alcoholics Anonymous in
June 1945. Her story, “The Independent Blonde,” appeared in the second
edition of the Big Book, Alcoholics Anonymous. About it, she
remarked,
1978: The 28th General Service Conference was held at the Roosevelt
Hotel
[left, 2008]
in Manhattan. Advisory Actions—then known as “Collective Group Conscience
Voiced”—included:
Upon his return, his wife, mindful of his
past behavior, insisted he stay sober for a full year before moving back
into their home at 2936 St. Paul Street
[left]. He spent the next year living with his brother and began working with
other alcoholics. Eventually, he would reunite with his family.In 1940, he would co-found Alcoholics Anonymous in Baltimore.
1939:
On April 16, 1939, Ralston Burdett “Rollie” H.
[right]
got sober and became the 77th member of Alcoholics Anonymous. He was major
league baseball player for the Cleveland Indians, so to protect his
identity, Dr. Bob S. admitted him to a hospital in Akron under an assumed
name. Rollie’s drinking problem had already led to his leaving four other
teams four other teams over the prior decade: the Pittsburgh Pirates,
Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Reds, and St. Louis Browns.
Earlier, Indians’ general manager C.C. “Cy”
Slapnicka
[left]
had given Rollie a $1,500 diamond ring for his daughter, a gesture that
helped motivate him to address his alcoholism. Adding to this, Indians’
owner Bill Veeck
[right] had offered $1,500 [~$35,000
in 2026]
to anyone who could help Rollie get sober; Dr. Bob declined the
reward.1940: Ruth Hock replied to a letter forwarded by John D. Rockefeller, Jr. to the Alcoholic Foundation in New York City. It was from Dave W. of Seattle, Washington, who had written to Rockefeller on 28 March, likely after reading reports about the 8 February dinner Rockefeller hosted for Alcoholics Anonymous. This exchange initiated a long correspondence between Hock and Dave, who later became one of the three founders of Seattle’s first A.A. group.
1940: On his one-year sober anniversary, Rollie H. caught an opening day
no-hitter—the first since 1909, pitched by Bob Feller
[right, c. 1940]—and drove in Cleveland’s only run with a triple. The occasion prompted him
to break his anonymity (there were no traditions or customs regarding
anonymity at the time). His story was reported nationwide, and because his
alcoholism was already a matter of public record, his sobriety became big
news, at least on the sports pages
[left: one such article].
1945: Eliot Taintor’s novel about Alcoholics Anonymous,
September Remember
[right: cover], was published by Prentice-Hall. Chapter XXI, “Boomerang,” was serialized
in the March and April 1945 issues of the A.A. Grapevine under the
titles “The Pleasures of Pre-Publication Reading” and “from ‘September
Remember’: a Novel about A.A.,” respetively. The name “Eliot Taintor,” which
the A.A. Grapevine described as “a writing team, one of whom is an
A.A.,” was actually a pseudonym for the married couple Ruth F. and Gregory
M.
1973: At the White House, Dr. Jack Norris, Chair of the General Service Board, presented [left] President Richard Nixon with the one-millionth copy of Alcoholics Anonymous.
2005: Nancy F., 97, died in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, after 57 years of
sobriety
[right: gravestone]. At age 38, struggling with alcohol, she joined Alcoholics Anonymous in
June 1945. Her story, “The Independent Blonde,” appeared in the second
edition of the Big Book, Alcoholics Anonymous. About it, she
remarked,We had several writers around and they wrote my story. I didn’t write the story—someone wrote it for me. I don’t even remember being interviewed. I never thought much about my story, to tell you the truth. I don’t even think I knew it was in the Big Book.
1978: The 28th General Service Conference was held at the Roosevelt
Hotel
[left, 2008]
in Manhattan. Advisory Actions—then known as “Collective Group Conscience
Voiced”—included:1. [Requested] the General Service Board of trustees to make a study of the possibility of restructuring the A.A. Conference regions…
9. The subject of listing special-interest groups in the A.A. directories not be included on the agenda of the 1979 Conference.
14. That a new pamphlet on finance… be prepared and distributed to stress: (a) self-support through the 60-30-10 plan; (b) how the 60-30-10 plan helps carry the A.A. message around the world… [and] that the title of the pamphlet be “Self Supporting? The 60-30-10 Plan.”
21. That neither a story about someone with a language barrier nor… about a physician be added to the pamphlet “Do You Think You’re Different?"…
43. That Article 5 on page 24 of The A.A. Service Manual be amended to read: “Area Assemblies: Composition of: Assemblies… are composed of the elected general service representatives of all A.A. groups…, district committee members, and area committee officers…”
44. Changes on page 53 of The A.A. Service Manual be made to read: “After group expenses are met, a suggested division among the three services listed above is the 60-30-10 plan (60%, intergroup or central office; 30%, General Service Office; and 10%, area committee).”
46. The Conference [rejected] the recommendation to include in The A.A. Service Manual… that trusted servants at all levels be reimbursed for expenses…
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