1971:
A 21-member General Service Board (GSB) of Alcoholics Anonymous convened
for the first time at the General Service Office in New York City.
Following the election of nine new members at the April General Service
Conference (GSC), the Board reached a 2:1 ratio of Class B (alcoholic)
Trustees to Class A (non-alcoholic) Trustees. This milestone completed a
reorganization initiated by the 1966 GSC and championed by Bill W. since
before 1955. Historically, the GSB had always maintained a majority of
non-alcoholic members. This 2:1 ratio has largely remained unchanged
ever since
[right: Report of the Trustees’ Nominating Committee to the 1971 GSC; all
nominees were approved by the GSC Trustees’ Committee and elected by the
GSC].
A.A. History—month & day unknown
1947:
Excluded from meetings of Group Number One, Kansas City, Missouri’s only
Alcoholics Anonymous group, African American and Black members started their
own A.A. meeting: The Kansas City Interracial Group. This group welcomed
anyone who wanted to stop drinking and eventually adopted the name The Paseo
Group
[left: Linwood United Church, 3151 Olive Street, current location of Paseo
Group meetings, c. 2021].
1947:
Ian MacE., New Zealand’s first A.A. member, had his initial 12th-Step
success with Alf J. from Davenport
[right: looking from Aukland across Waitemata Harbour to Davenport].
Alf’s brother-in-law, Dr. J. Caughey, a non-alcoholic, learned about A.A.
through Ian’s efforts in Wellington. Caughey contacted Ian, who sent him his
personal copy of the Big Book, Alcoholics Anonymous, along with other
literature for Alf. Inspired by this, Alf became very active in spreading
the A.A. message, holding meetings in his home and at his dental surgery
office.
1948: Al S. [left]
chaired a dinner, possibly in celebration of Bill W.’s anniversary. Bill
attended with his wife, Lois, along with Dr. Bob and Anne S. Al was so
excited that he couldn’t remember Dr. Bob’s name.1948: The first permanent A.A. group in Richmond, Virginia—started in 1941 with 5 members—reported 82 members.
1948: An unidentified member of Alcoholics Anonymous explained the program’s principles on WNBC’s critically acclaimed “Tex and Jinx Show”* (originally titled “Hi, Jinx” and later “Meet Tex and Jinx”). This morning interview and variety radio show, broadcast nationwide at the time, featured serious discussions of world affairs alongside celebrity interviews.
*
The hosts were husband and wife John Reagan “Tex” McCrary and Eugenia
Lincoln “Jinx” Falkenburg [right]. Tex was a graduate of Exeter and Yale,
while Jinx was a model, actress, and expert in tennis and swimming. One
reporter called them “Mr. Brains and Mrs. Beauty.” They dedicated most of
their airtime to exploring lofty concepts, engaging guests, and sidebars. The
show was “built on the assumption that the early morning audience was not
stupid, as programmers generally assumed; that people in general had fresher
minds and were more open to serious topics at the beginning of the day.”
The hosts were husband and wife John Reagan “Tex” McCrary and Eugenia
Lincoln “Jinx” Falkenburg [right]. Tex was a graduate of Exeter and Yale,
while Jinx was a model, actress, and expert in tennis and swimming. One
reporter called them “Mr. Brains and Mrs. Beauty.” They dedicated most of
their airtime to exploring lofty concepts, engaging guests, and sidebars. The
show was “built on the assumption that the early morning audience was not
stupid, as programmers generally assumed; that people in general had fresher
minds and were more open to serious topics at the beginning of the day.”
A.A. History—year, month & day unknown
1947–48: Bill W. began to consider the implications for Alcoholics Anonymous as a whole of the eventual deaths of its old-timers. As a result, he started developing what became the Conference Plan, but he would face strong opposition from virtually all sides.
Late 1940s: The National Committee for Education on Alcoholism (NCEA) moved its office from New Haven, Connecticut, to the New York Academy of Medicine [left, recent], 2 East 103rd Street in New York City.
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