May 14 in A.A. History

1939: The first A.A. meeting in New Jersey, and the fourth in the world, was held in Upper Montclair at Hank and Kathleen P.’s home, 344 N. Fullerton Ave. [left].

1948: A Long Beach (California) Central Office, located at 1128 Dawson Ave. [right, Apr 2011] opened with 10 identified groups. It was listed in the Long Beach Telephone Directory:

Alcoholics Anonymous Harbor District
1128 Dawson Ave. — Long Beach, California
Telephone number 305-150 [later changed to 905-150]

    According to local accounts, the establishment of this office was spearheaded by Jack J. Tired of traveling to Los Angeles for everything they needed, Jack partnered with the group in Signal Hill to propose a Central Office in Long Beach, aiming to mutually benefit all groups in the Harbor Area.

1998: Sybil C. [far left: 1940s; near left: 1961] died just six days shy of her 90th birthday. A former bootlegger and dance hall girl, she was also the first woman in Alcoholics Anonymous west of the Mississippi. Later, Corwin served as Long Beach (California) Archivist and the first executive secretary of California A.A. She got sober on 23 March 1941. Known for her multiple marriages, Sybil often began her later talks with the memorable introduction: “My name is Sybil Doris Adams Stratton Hart Maxwell Willis C., and I’m an alcoholic.”

May in A.A. History—day unknown

1947: The seeds of Idaho’s first A.A. group were planted when a woman in the small town of Rigby, Idaho [right], read Jack Alexander’s article about A.A. in The Saturday Evening Post earlier that spring. Presumably seeking help for her husband, she wrote to the Alcoholic Foundation in New York City. By coincidence, Harry B.—a former member of both the Los Angeles, California “mother” group and the Salt Lake City, Utah group—had recently moved to Idaho Falls, Idaho, only 15 miles [~24 km] from Rigby. The two men connected and established Idaho Falls Group #1 in May, initially holding meetings in the home of Harry and his wife. The group quickly grew to 19 members and subsequently moved to a room in Rigby’s City Hall.

1948: The A.A. Grapevine reported receiving an inquiry that read, in part, “Enclosed you will find $2.00 for a bottle of… Alcoholics Anonymous.” The article, titled “Letters Ask for Bottle of Cure” [left], also noted,

    Letters addressed “Anonymous, • New York City,” and even some addressed, “Anonymous, U.S.A.,” sooner or later find their way into the General Service Headquarters. Many letters are now coming from foreign countries from people who have received anonymous gifts of food or money from the U.S.! These are most always written in the sender’s native tongue, posing a problem of translation.