June 20 in A.A. History

1944: In a bulletin to A.A. groups, National Secretary Margaret “Bobbie” B. [left] announced that due to high demand, Bill W.’s presentation to the New York State Medical Society and Dr. Harry Tiebout’s paper to the American Psychiatric Association would be published together in a pamphlet titled “Medicine Looks at Alcoholics Anonymous” [right: as published, undated].

1946: Drs. C. Nelson Davis [near right] and C. Dudley Saul [far right] cofounded The C. Dudley Saul Clinic for alcoholics at St. Luke’s Hospital in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. This clinic was the first private facility of its kind in the United States. Following Dr. Saul’s death in 1947, Dr. Davis relocated the clinic to Malvern, Pennsylvania, renaming it the Malvern Institute [left]. The institute continues to treat alcoholics today.
    Both doctors were early proponents of Alcoholics Anonymous (A.A.) and traveled together to promote the organization, convinced of the benefits of a 12-step program for recovering alcoholics. Furthermore, Dr. Saul established the 4021 Clubhouse [right, c. 2006] in Philadelphia for A.A. meetings, which also remains active today.

June in A.A. History—day unknown

1947: The Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs published an article from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, titled “Experience in Short-Term Hospitalization of the Alcoholic.” The article stated, in part:

    Dr. C. Nelson Davis [left] reported to the Philadelphia Psychiatric Society that of the patients admitted to the [C. Dudley] Saul Clinic [in an annex to St. Luke’s Hospital in Philadelphia] during the month of June 1946, 60% were found to be dry one month after discharge, and 45% were still dry three months after discharge. He further reported that of the patients admitted during the month of July 1946, 60% were found to be dry one month after discharge, and 37.5,% were still dry three months after discharge.

1947: The A.A. Grapevine first published the A.A. Preamble [right: original published version], which was written by then-editor Tom Y. Its primary purpose was to introduce A.A. to non-alcoholic readers, with much of its wording adapted from the Foreword of the first edition of the Big Book, Alcoholics Anonymous.
    A few months later, Ollie L., Dick F., and Searcy W. [left] decided to create a version of the Preamble specifically for alcoholics in Texas. Searcy later recalled, “We worked on it, passed it around, and agreed on this version. It’s now read by groups throughout the state.” This revised version became widely known as the Texas Preamble.

1947: The A.A. Grapevine announced the availability of a two-record set—two 12-inch phonograph records [right: one of them, with enlarged label] featuring a general talk on A.A. by Bill W., priced at $3.30 per set [~$47 in 2024].

1947: The first Alcoholics Anonymous group in Juneau, Alaska [left, 1940s], was formed with five members.