1897: “With only $1.87
[~$75 in 2026] and unbounded faith in God,” Australian William Raws
[right] founded the Keswick Colony of Mercy in Whiting, New Jersey, as a spiritual
restoration center for men addicted to alcohol. After experiencing a
miraculous
salvation and liberation from his own addiction, Raws dedicated his
life to helping other men who had lost everything to the bondage of alcohol.
Now known as America’s Keswick
[left], it describes itself as:
A ministry that teaches and models biblical Christian living through
Addiction Recovery for men and women, training and resources, Christian
conferences, concerts, and events, and by providing group retreat rental
facilities and service to other like-minded organizations.
1962: Warren C. (A.A. #12?)
spoke to “some 50 men” about Alcoholics Anonymous at the Canton, Ohio, Lions
Club, as reported two days later in Dover, Ohio’s
The Daily Reporter [right].
1991:
[Most non-Lamplighters sources give the year as 1990.] The Lamplighters Group of Alcoholics Anonymous (A.A.) was established by six
A.A. members. The group was founded to create a secure and accessible online
space for A.A. fellowship and has become a pioneer in online A.A.
communication and meeting formats.
In many respects, Lamplighters was the first online A.A. group, emerging
after earlier attempts to hold online A.A. meetings on Bulletin Board
Systems that began around 1986. Since its founding, the group has met
continuously via email, expanding to include members from numerous
countries.
Access to meetings is controlled through a subscription-based listserver,
which collects and redistributes individual posts to the entire group,
ensuring that everyone can “hear every speaker's share.” This method upholds
anonymity and protects the privacy of its members. The electronic format is
often viewed as providing stronger anonymity protections than face-to-face
meetings by limiting knowledge of members' age, race, gender, and other
personal characteristics. This focus helps members prioritize the principles
of recovery over individual identities.
They are listed on the Online Intergroup of A.A., where they describe
themselves as a “closed general discussion meeting of A.A. with meeting
conducted by email [in English] going on 24 hours a day seven days a week.
Global membership with members in over 22 countries and at both poles.”
Their former website featured a ”Who We Are” page, which stated in part:
First and foremost, we're an AA meeting in every sense of the word, even
though the little “meeting room” we rent is electronic rather than brick
and mortar. We adhere to the Traditions, encourage service work, and
share our experience, strength and hope with each other around the clock
and around the world.…
One of the oldest and largest of the email-based AA groups, Lamplighters
began life in 1991 among six AA members who subscribed to General
Electric's old GEnie electronic mail service. The name Lamplighters came
from free word association: “genie” to “magic lamp” to “Lamplighters”
[left: El Monumento al Farolero (Statue of a Lamplighter), Félix García
Hernando's bronze sculpture installed in Madrid in 1999, paying tribute
to the old lanterns of the city who turned on the street lamps at dusk
for the safety of the streets].…
A key event in Lamplighters history was our participation in online
activities at the 1995 San Diego convention, and the opportunity so many
of us had to meet each other face to face. Several of our members helped
form the Online Intergroup of Alcoholics Anonymous at that time and
later that year, our group's Secretary was invited to New York by the
General Service Conference to demonstrate online AA to the Trustees.
Since 1997 Lamplighters has been officially listed in the World Wide
Directory as an AA meeting. We are proud of our contribution over the
years to helping AA understand and utilize electronic media to carry the
message.
Today, there are hundreds of members of Lamplighters from countries all
over the world. Former Lamplighters members have gone on to form many
other online groups in the best AA tradition.
If one were to characterize our group, we are probably less formal in
tone than many. We encourage crosstalk and humor in the sharing of our
experience, strength and hope…while never losing sight of our primary
purpose of carrying the message [final ellipsis (…) appears in
original].
1897: “With only $1.87
[~$75 in 2026] and unbounded faith in God,” Australian William Raws
[right] founded the Keswick Colony of Mercy in Whiting, New Jersey, as a spiritual
restoration center for men addicted to alcohol. After experiencing a
miraculous
salvation and liberation from his own addiction, Raws dedicated his
life to helping other men who had lost everything to the bondage of alcohol.
Now known as America’s Keswick [left], it describes itself as:
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