July 20 in A.A. History

1898:	Q.	What did the future Dr. Bob S. [far right, c. 1904] do between his graduation from St. Johnsbury Academy on 24 Jun 1898, and his enrollment at Dartmouth College on 15 September 1898?
	A.	He worked in the shipping department of E. and T. Fairbanks & Co. at the scale works in St. Johnsbury, Vermont [near right: clippings from the St Johnsbury Republican (top), The St Johnsbury Caledonian (bottom) on 20 July 1898].

1918: During the Great War (WW I), Bill W., en route to Europe aboard the H.M.T. Lancashire, had his first taste of brandy.

1935: In a circular letter, Lois W. [left: graduation, 1912] wrote to three of her oldest friends from Packer Collegiate Institute [right, 1910]: Elise Valentine Shaw,¹ Edith Roberts,² and Helen Cruden,³ to share that…

…Bill has stopped drinking thru the Oxford Group… Last December Ebby Thatcher [sic] appeared sober for the first time in years and with a very strange story to tell about a religion called the Oxford Group which had cured him just as he was about to be committed to an insane asylum.

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¹Helen Elise Valentine (1890–1976) married Frank Stinson Shaw in 1916. They had three daughters and lived first in Brooklyn, then in Fairfield, Connecticut. Frank was a stockbroker who had worked closely with Lois’s husband Bill in the 1920s while Bill and Lois were investigating companies looking for under-valued stocks.

²Dr. Edith Adelaide Roberts [right] (1881–1977) became an American botanist who studied plant physiology and was a pioneer in plant ecology. She created the first ecological laboratory in the United States, promoted natural landscaping along with Elsa Rehmann, and proved that plants were the main source of vitamin A [from her Wikipedia page].

³Helen Cruden (1892–1992) appears to have married Frederick William Gerhard in 1920. If so, they had three children and lived mostly in or near Washington D.C.

1970: At 26, Tom L. [left] attended his first A.A. meeting in India, a moment that would forever change his life through the Twelve Steps and a newfound relationship with his higher power. By the late 1960s, alcoholism had stripped him of his job, family, and friends, leaving him homeless on the streets of Mumbai. In 1975, he moved to Abu Dhabi to work as a laborer. Two years after that, in a small room in Deira, he would start the first A.A. meeting in the United Arab Emirates.

A.A. History—month & day unknown

1940: [Likely between May–December] A manuscript and a pamphlet [right: cover] detailing the “Little Rock Plan” were published, probably by the Central Group in Little Rock, Arkansas. These materials outlined a structured approach for new prospects, covering “Initial Contact,” “First Interview,” “After the First Interview,” and “Assignments” for those accepted into the program.
The nine assignments, paraphrased or quoted below, were:

1. Make amends, including a repayment plan, to all local creditors.
2. Do the same for all out-of-town creditors.
3. Make amends to all former employers from “the time of his abnormal drinking.”
4. Make a list of all others against whom the prospect harbors resentment or dislike, or to whom an apology is owed.
5. Make a list of old friends—not drinking acquaintances—with whom he has lost touch but with whom he would still like to be friends; contact at least one every each day.
6. Discuss progress, troubles, and other topics with different group members for a few minutes each day.
7. Attend six daily lectures in the following order: “There is a Solution,” “More About Alcoholism,” “How It Works,” “Into Action,” “Working with Others,” and “A Vision for You.”
8. After completing the above, ensure full amends have been made to the prospect’s wife, and begin daily heart-to-heart conversations with her about his progress so she understands the program he is following.
9. “Select some minister, priest, rabbi, and or practitioner and go to him for... the purpose of a ‘confession.’”

Upon completing these tasks, the prospect could be presented to “the Committee” for approval. The Committee “may make any suggestions it deems necessary and may make some additional assignments” or, more commonly, authorize a vote on the prospect’s admission at its next meeting. “With admittance, the prospect is a Junior Member until he has attended twelve consecutive weekly meetings of the group, then he is a full member.”