August 7 in A.A. History

1938: In response to a request from Dr. Bob S. for clarification on what he wanted from the personal stories of Akron, Ohio A.A. members, Bill W. wrote:

About the stories, I should say that everyone should write at whatever length they want to; the more, the better. Then the thousand word manuscripts can be edited down to the right size. The idea is that a chance word or phrase or experience may be the most telling point of the story, which would be missed entirely if people were trying to restrict themselves to a given number of words.

August in A.A. History—day unknown

1943: Eight women in Charleston, West Virginia [right: Capitol Street, 1944] came together to form a women’s group.

1943: The Alcoholic Foundation received tax-exempt status from the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS), likely in response to the Revenue Act of 1943, which required certain tax-exempt organizations to file Form 990 information returns. This was not, however, when Alcoholics Anonymous (A.A.) became a 501(c)(3) organization—that designation didn't exist until the Revenue Code of 1954 introduced it as a specific section of the tax code. In 1954, the Alcoholic Foundation was renamed the General Service Board of Alcoholics Anonymous, Inc., retaining its tax-exempt status under the new designation.

1945: The A.A. Grapevine [left: pp. 1, 4] published Bill W.’s first essay on the Traditions, “Modesty One Plank for Good Public Relations.” This essay marked the start of a five-year campaign in which Bill advocated for the Traditions and for a General Service Conference. The previous month’s issue had featured an article on the Washingtonians, written by a member identified only as CHK, from Lansing, Michigan. Bill referenced that article in his own piece, writing:

Those who read the July Grapevine were startled, then sobered, by the account which it carried of the Washingtonian movement. It was hard for us to believe that 100 years ago the newspapers of this country were carrying enthusiastic accounts about 100,000 alcoholics who were helping each other stay sober; that today the influence of this good work has so completely disappeared that few of us had ever heard of it.

1945: The Richmond, Virginia, chapter of Alcoholics Anonymous (A.A.) [right: aerial view, 1948; left: downtown, 1940s] held its first public meeting, drawing a sizable crowd. Bill W. noted that the original Richmond group, founded in June 1940 by Ted C. and McGhee B., had “believed in getting away from their wives and drinking only beer.” In 1941, Jack W.—whom Bill W. called “the Virginia squire”—started a new group of five members that took a more traditional approach to A.A.

1945: The A.A. Grapevine reported:

The wilds of Alaska have been penetrated by A.A. Well, not exactly the wilds, for Alaska’s first group is in Skagway—a town known historically as the landing place of large quantities of supplies and thousands of people during the 1897–98 “Klondike Rush” to reach the gold mines in the upper (Canadian) Yukon.

[Right: map showing Skagway's location—84 miles (135 km) NNE of Juneau, at the upper end of Taiya Inlet]

1945: Margaret “Bobbie” B. [left], National Secretary of the Alcoholic Foundation in New York City, received Lynn G.’s contact information from Bob V. following their brief meeting in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Bobbie promptly wrote to Lynn to confirm the details, expressing her excitement about adding a new connection to her international network. In reply, Lynn confirmed a willingness to serve as an AA contact in Rio de Janeiro, though noting that the stay in Brazil would be brief. Lynn also requested materials—memorandums and bulletins—and added:

I have avoided the first drink for four months; by doing something, I believe I will maintain my sobriety… I would like to have some participation in the growth of Alcoholics Anonymous here in Brazil.

Lynn Goodale was never heard from again, and no one knows what became of him or her.