June 26 in A.A. History

1935: Bill D. [right, with wife, Henrietta], a prominent attorney and Akron city councilman, was admitted to Akron City Hospital in Ohio for his final detox and his first day of sobriety. He wrote about this experience in his story, “Alcoholics Anonymous Number Three,” is in the second, third, and fourth editions of Alcoholics Anonymous:

    On June 26, 1935, I came to in the hospital, and to say I was discouraged is to put it mildly. Each of the seven times I had left this hospital in the previous six months, I had come fully determined in my own mind that I would not get drunk again—for at least six to eight months. It hadn’t worked out that way, and I didn’t know what the matter was and did not know what to do.

    Two days later, Bill W. and Dr. Bob S.^* visited him. Six days after that, on 4 July, he left the hospital, never to drink again. That day marked the founding of A.A. Group Number One. Within a week, he was back in court, arguing a case.

---

^*Edgar R. claimed to have been with Bill and Bob on this visit; I wouldn't be surprised to learn that was true.

Today in A.A. History—June 26–29

1955: The 5th General Service Conference met prior to the 2nd International Conference at the Jefferson Hotel [left, c. 1940s] in St. Louis, Missouri. Advisory Actions included:

• The… plan for selecting Class B Trustees from outlying areas is submitted for consideration, subject to approval of the General Service Conference [note: this is the first move to establish Regions—the initial geographical groupings were called “Area A” thru “Area E”].
• The Delegates voted overwhelmingly to set the retail price of the new edition [of Alcoholics Anonymous] at $4.50 [~$56 in 2026], the price to A.A. groups at $4.00 [~$50 in 2026] and to earmark fifty cents [of each sale, ~$6.20 in 2026] for the Reserve Fund.
• … adopting the proposed permanent “Charter of the General Service Conference of Alcoholics Anonymous—North American Section,” subject to approval of the 20th Anniversary Convention of A.A.

    A Public Relations Policy and Practice report noted, among other things, the following activities:

• Headquarters cooperation with the North American Newspaper Alliance syndicate, with Fawcett Publications and with the New York Daily News on stories proposed. In all cases, emphasis is on the fact that A.A. does not “promote” publicity, nor does it endorse specific articles.
• Headquarters cooperation in John Daly’s network television presentation on A.A. on his “Open Hearing” program. Substantial assistance was rendered by Grapevine personnel.
• Continued correspondence and consultation with representatives of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studios over the projected filming of the Lillian Roth book, "I'll Cry Tomorrow," in which it is proposed to portray an A.A. member who deliberately breaks anonymity.

    The final session, the only public one ever held during a General Service Conference (GSC), took place on 3 July (see entry for that date) at the Kiel Auditorium [right; 1940s] in St. Louis. This session marked the end of the GSC experiment and established a lasting component of the A.A. General Service Structure that remains in place today.