1904: Margaret “Marty” M. [left: as a debutante, c. 1925] was born to Lillian Christy and William Henry M. in her maternal grandparents’ home on Magnolia Avenue in Sheridan Park, a new upscale neighborhood on the North Shore of Chi­cago, Illinois. Her family lived just down Magnolia Avenue [right: Typical single-family home (built c. 1910), 4500 block of N. Magnolia Ave, Sheridan Park, similar to the one Marty M. was born in]. Marty was the oldest of five children. A sister, Christy, was born in 1906 but died within 36 hours. Lillian Christy “Chris” was born in 1910, and twins Mary Elizabeth “Betty” and William Henry arrived in 1918. Young Marty led an upper-middle-class life, attending private schools, traveling extensively, and making her social debut.

October in A.A. History—day unknown

1940: The first Alcoholics Anonymous group in San Francisco, California, found a “more or less permanent” meeting place at the Telegraph Hill Community House [far left: looking south toward downtown, March 2022; near left: interior, c. 1910–25], located at 1736 Stockton Street in the North Beach district (converted to 11 commer­cial offices). Since its founding in November 1939, the group had been meeting at Mrs. Gordon Oram’s boarding house at 51 Potomac Street [near right, recent; far right: historical plaque there], as well as in other homes.

1940: Alcoholics Anonymous members Marty M. [left, 1940s], Walter W. [right, 1925], and Ray C., the artist who designed dust jacket covers for the first edition Big Book, were elected to the first board of directors of High Watch Farm, which had recently been established as a tax-exempt charitable organization. It is believed to have been the first treatment center in the world based on the Twelve Step program of A.A.

1941: A new Alcoholics Anonymous (A.A.) club was established at 19th and Park Ave. in Minneapolis, Minnesota, to coordinate A.A. activities in the city and surrounding areas. Only six months had passed since the creation of the Minneapolis Group of Alcoholics Anonymous, the first in the state, and just two months since that group had moved to larger quarters at 200 East Franklin [left, Oct 2008]. Six months later, the club would purchase and move into 2218 1st Avenue South [right].

There was much to be done. A new group had formed in St. Paul, and Pat C. [left], the founder of A.A. in Minnesota, was assisting individuals in Hibbing and Duluth, as well as in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. Minneapolis also served as the point of contact for prospects in Fargo, North Dakota; Sioux Falls, South Dakota; Omaha, Nebraska; and Des Moines and Sioux City, Iowa.