June 5 in A.A. History

1918: Robert “Smitty” Ripley S. [right, mother and son, father and son], the son of Anne Ripley and Dr. Bob S., was born.

1939:  Ebby T. [left] started a new job. In his own words:

    … through the connections of my brother [the politically influential Jack T., II] I secured a job at the New York State World’s Fair Commission at the fairgrounds [right: aerial view, 1939].

    During this period, he often spent time with Bill and Lois W., and may have even stayed with them. Lois believed he was sober and attending meetings. However, Ebby later confessed,

    I did not sober up. I managed to drink and hold [the job] pretty well, and with so many people there, and crowds, I wasn’t noticed much. I got away with it all summer.

    By fall, though, he was “drinking it up pretty hard.” The following spring, he convinced his boss that “I was again on the straight and narrow” and thus was rehired for the same position.

1947: Alcoholics Anonymous National Secretary Margaret “Bobbie” B. [left] sent a bulletin [right] to A.A. groups, noting several important points, including:

    Pathé Pictures, makers of the “This Is America” movies series, has completed a 15-minute “short” film about Alcoholics Anonymous which will be distributed through RKO. They tell us that this film will be shown soon in neighborhood theatres—we cannot supply it. The film is called “I Am an Alcoholic.” It not only shows how one man recovered through AA, but portrays a reasonable facsimile of the founding of AA in Akron [Ohio] by Bill [W.] and Dr. Bob [S.].… We were unable to cooperate with the makers when the story was filmed.…
    On the subject of movies, MARCH OF TIME has informed us that 16-mm films of PROBLEM DRINKERS are now available through their distributional outlet. Write directly to MARCH OF TIME, 369 Lexington Ave., New York if you would like to rent or buy for a group showing.

    The March of Time newsreel series, which included “Problem Drinkers” [right: screen capture], were shown in thousands of theaters.

1988: An A.A. memorial service for Sybil C. [left, 1985], who died on May 14, just six days before her 90th birthday, was finally held in Los Angeles, California, after several delays caused by A.A. conference schedules. The service lasted over two hours. Sybil got sober in A.A. on 21 March 1941, in Los Angeles, and she was recognized to be the first woman in A.A. west of the Mississippi.

Today in A.A. History—June 5–7

1981: Alcoholics Anonymous in Switzerland celebrated its 25th Anniversary Convention in Geneva. Lois W. and Nell Wing attended together. During the event, they saw the French-language version of the A.A.W.S. film Bill’s Own Story [right].