October 3 in A.A. History

In 1945, Bill W. wrote a letter to the secretaries of more than 600 groups, announcing that the A.A. Grapevine had been adopted as the national periodical of Alcoholics Anonymous [right: announcement in the November 1945 issue of the A.A. Grapevine].

In 1973, M’Cready “James” H. [left], 82, died in Los Gatos, California. He had been a founder of Alcoholics Anonymous in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1940.
    He had worked as a teacher, a writer for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and the Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph, editor of the South Bend (Indiana) Times, contributor to humor magazines, and author of many short stories and at least thirteen books: Huling’s Quest (1925), The Big Show (1927), Dear Senator (1928), The King of Spain’s Daughter (1930), Salesman from the Sidelines (1932), The Family Meal Ticket (1933), Solid Citizen (1933), The Right People (1949), The Prodigal Brother (1952), Saving Grace (1954), The Gates of Brass (1956), The Clouded Fountain (1959), and The Platinum Yoke (1963).

In 2021, the first episode of the A.A. Grapevine, Inc. podcast, The Half-Hour Variety Hour, was released [right: 1st podcast as it appeared on the A.A. Grapevine website]. 

    The hosts, long-time A.A. members Don and Sam, introduced themselves to the listeners. Their guest was Michael M. from New York, whose story “We Showed Them” had been featured in the October 2021 issue of the A.A. Grapevine. For the previous four years, they had anonymously produced their own bi-weekly podcast about sobriety in A.A., called The Boiled Owl Coffee Club AA Recovery Podcast, from what they referred to as “The Boiled Owl Coffee Club” [left: former home page of their podcast]. This was a virtual location, as Don was in North Carolina and Sam was in California.

October 2 in A.A. History

	In 1944, the National Committee for Education on Alcoholism (NCEA), founded by Margaret “Marty” M. [left], opened a tiny office in the New York Academy of Medicine building [right] on E. 103rd Street in New York City. For the next four years, the office was staffed by Marty and a secretary. The budget for the the first year was $13,000 [~$239,300 in 2025].

    In 1950, the NCEA was renamed the National Council on Alcoholism (NCA), and in 1990, it became the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence (NCADD).

	In 1958, CBS-TV aired a live production of “Days of Wine and Roses” on Playhouse 90 (season 3, episode 3). It starred Cliff Robertson [near left] as Joe Clay; Piper Laurie [middle left] as Joe’s wife Kirsten Arneson Clay; and Charles Bickford [far right] as Kirsten’s as Kirsten’s father, Ellis Arnesen. Alcoholics Anonymous cooperated in its making, as well as in that of the later movie version [right: scene from near the end of the Playhouse 90 production]. The story centers on Joe’s testimony at an A.A. meeting. It ends with Joe in recovery, while Kirsten continues to drink, abandoning Joe and their daughter.

October 1 in A.A. History

In 1941, local news organizations reported the establishment of the first Alcoholics Anonymous group in New Haven, Connecticut [right, c. 1944], which had actually formed 6½ months earlier, on March 15th.

In 2022, William “Bill” B. [left: with Lois W. near the end of her life], 89, died at his home in Stratford, Connecticut. He had been sober since 8 April 1962, and was a close friend of Lois W., Bill W’s wife, for the last 16 years of her life. 
    Bill began his career at the New York Journal-American newspaper and went on to work for several newspapers and magazines, as well as creating syndicated radio shows. In 1969, he founded Borchert-Barrett Associates, a public relations firm in New York City. Three years later, he became a partner in Artists Entertainment Complex, an independent film and talent management company that produced films such as Kansas City Bomber (1972), Serpico (1973), and Dog Day Afternoon (1975).
    In the community of Alcoholics Anonymous, Bill is best known as the screenwriter and author of the film My Name is Bill W. (1989), based on the true story of Alcoholics Anonymous co-founder Bill W.; he was nominated for an Emmy for this work. He later wrote a book about Lois, titled The Lois W―― Story: When Love Is Not Enough (2005). A CBS-Hallmark TV movie of the same name, based on his book, was released in 2010.
    Bill’s other books include 50 Quiet Miracles That Changed Lives (2009); 1,000 Years of Sobriety: 20 People x 50 Years, co-authored with Michael F., which tells the stories of twenty Alcoholics Anonymous pioneers from the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand (2010); When Two Loves Collide: The Inspiring Story of Dr. John and Dot Mooney (2013); and How I Became My Father … a Drunk (2015).
    Bill was a member of The Writers Guild of America and a long-time volunteer at Stepping Stones Foundation, the former home of Bill and Lois in Katonah, New York. He also served on the Board of Directors of Stepping Stones Foundation from 1997 to 2006.

September 30 in A.A. History

In 1939, Liberty magazine [near right: cover] published “Alcoholics and God” by Morris Markey [far right]. Bill W. thought the article “a bit lurid” and worried that the title would scare off alcoholics. The article generated “800 frantic inquiries,” all of which were answered by Ruth Hock. While letters arrived from across the U.S., only a few could be directed to the three existing groups in Akron, Ohio; Cleveland, Ohio; and New York City.

		Charles B. Towns [far left], proprietor of Towns Hospital, had encouraged Markey to write the piece. Liberty editor Fulton Oursler [near left], the author of The Greatest Story Ever Told, became a close friend of Bill and later served as a Class A [non-alcoholic] Trustee of the Alcoholic Foundation, A.A.’s headquarters (as it was then called) in New York City. He also became a member of the A.A. Grapevine editorial board.

In 1955, the Alcoholics Anonymous General Service Headquarters in New York City distributed a 6-page flyer titled “The Structure and Services of A.A.” [right: front cover], written by Frank B. It included the first service structure diagram and summaries of A.A.’s five service agencies:
    (1) General Service Board of A.A., Inc.;
    (2) General Service Headquarters;
    (3) A.A. Publishing, Inc.
    (4) The General Service Conference; and
    (5) The A.A. Grapevine, Inc.

    The description of A.A. Publishing, Inc. states:

    The General Service Board, with the approval of the General Service Conference, has also granted to Bill [W.], as the surviving co-founder of the movement, a 15% royalty on sales of the A.A. book. These royalties represent Bill’s only income from A.A. sources.

    The back cover [left] listed the Twelve Traditions in short form, as published in the November 1949 A.A. Grapevine.

	In 1975, Bill W.: The Absorbing And Deeply Moving Life Story Of Bill Wilson, Co-Founder Of Alcoholics Anonymous [left: 1st edition cover], written by Robert Thomsen [right], was published by Hazelden Publishing.

	In 2003, Searcy W. [left], 93, died in Dallas, Texas, with 20,962 days (57 years, 4 months, 20 days) of sobriety.     In 1949, Searcy began establishing treatment clinics in Dallas [right: where Ebby T. sobered up], Houston, Lubbock (all in Texas) and Carlsbad, New Mexico. Alcoholics came for a week and paid $125, all-inclusive. Then they went to A.A., and 75% stayed sober.

    Searcy’s motto was, “Trust God, clean house, help others. And it doesn’t have to be done in that order!”

September in A.A. History—day unknown

In 1953, the first Alcoholics Anonymous (A.A.) group in Argentina was founded in Buenos Aires [right: location of Buenos Aires within Argentina].
    After reading the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous and getting sober in December 1952, Hector had spent nearly nine months unsuccessfully trying to start an A.A. group. He had maintained contact with the U.S. while he visited alcoholics in jails and hospitals. Through the Alcoholic Foundation's General Service Office (GSO) in New York City, he had met with A.A. members visiting Buenos Aires. He had also obtained unofficial A.A. publications from other countries and corresponded with many individuals. Gradually, Hector had educated himself about Alcoholics Anonymous and strengthened his own sobriety.
    In September 1953, another alcoholic, Arthur M., a British national and lifelong resident of Argentina, reached out to Hector. After traveling to the U.S. to visit family, Arthur had received treatment for alcoholism and subsequently joined A.A. in Dallas, Texas. Before returning to Buenos Aires, he obtained Hector’s name from GSO. Together, the two men worked with renewed vigor, aided by Arthur’s knowledge of A.A. in the U.S. As a result, they successfully founded the first A.A. group in Argentina.

In 1965, the A.A. Grapevine [left: cover] published a short article titled “Best of Bill.” It said, in part,

    About a year ago, we began to think of printing readers’ favorites of Bill’s articles in separate form so that they would be readily available now that some of our back issues containing them are sold out. We chose five articles on subjects which are no strangers to any of us—Fear, Faith, Honesty, Humility, and Love—and had them printed in small booklets (3½ by 5½ inches) all packaged in a little envelope. We hope to add others to the package from time to time, so we gave the group of articles the overall title, “The Best of Bill”.…

    We just returned from the Convention in Toronto, where the “Best of Bill” was introduced to the more than 10,000 people who attended this exciting, important and exhausting gathering of AAs around the world. The Grapevine had two booths on the Convention floors floors which were in continual danger of capsizing beneath the waves of AAs rushing back and forth to panel meetings. We’re pretty certain thousands never saw our booths, or our new “Best of Bill” packet. But we are also certain (because we counted) that thousands stopped to look and to buy. We hope you will like the “Best of Bill,” too. Turn the page to see about prices and ordering [right: order form].

In 1970, [early] Bill W. [left, at April 1970's General Service Conference] became completely bedridden.

In 1974, Bob P. [right] was hired as the General Manager (GM) of the General Service Office (GSO); he served in that role until October 1984.
    He got sober in New York City in 1961. His story, “A.A. Taught Him to Handle Sobriety,” has appeared in the 3rd and 4th editions of the Big Book, Alcoholics Anonymous. Bob had served on the General Service Board as a Class B (alcoholic) Trustee from 1968 to 1974 and continued working at GSO until 1986.
    After retiring, he contributed to A.A. in many ways. For one, he would write a history of the Fellowship from the publication of Alcoholics Anonymous Comes of Age in 1957 through A.A.’s 50th [51st?] year in 1985, including some additional early history. Unfortunately, this manuscript would never be published, but it is available online.

September in A.A. History—day unknown

In 1950, [Early] Dr. Bob S. [right] underwent another operation. His live-in caretaker at the time, Emma K., recalled in 1977:

    Then the pain was getting really bad. Every day, he went down a little further. And he did so hate to go to the hospital. But there were things that had to be done to him, and they couldn’t be done at home. So we [she and her alcoholic husband Lavelle K.] would take him in, and may he would stay a day and a night. Then we’d bring him back home. We had good days, and we had bad days. I know one time he was in bed for six weeks. Sometimes, he had to have five or six shots. And he would always say, “Thank you kindly.”

In 1950, Bill W. [left] reported on the proceedings of the July 28–30 1st International Convention and A.A.’s 15th Anniversary Celebration in Cleveland, Ohio, in an A.A. Grapevine article titled “We Come of Age.” It began:

    On AA’s 15th Anniversary everybody knew that we had grown up. There couldn't be any doubt about it. Members, families and friends—seven thousand of them—spent three inspiring, almost awesome days with our good hosts at Cleveland.
    The theme song of our Conference was gratitude; its keynote was the sure realization that we are now welded as one, the world over. As never before, we dedicated ourselves to the single purpose of carrying good news of AA to those millions who still don't know. And, as we affirmed the Tradition of Alcoholics Anonymous, we asked that we might remain in perfect unity under the Grace of God for so long as he may need us.

	In 1952, the A.A. Bulletin, a newsletter regularly sent to A.A. groups from the Alcoholic Foundation’s office in New York City, was renamed The Group Secretary. In 1955, it would be renamed again, to The General Service Bulletin. Then, in May 1956, it would be consolidated with several other A.A. bulletins to create the A.A. Exchange Bulletin [left: Vol. I, No. 1]. Finally, in December 1966, the A.A. Exchange Bulletin would be renamed Box 4-5-9 [right: first Box 4-5-9, “formerly the A.A. Exchange Bulletin”].

September 27 in A.A. History

In 1937, Dr. Bob S. [near right] responded to a letter that Bill W. [far right] had sent him a few days earlier. Bill mentioned his upcoming trip to Akron, stating that he and Lois planned to arrive on Sunday, 10 October, along with two other couples and a friend^* from New York City. Dr. Bob was enthusiastic about the visit and expressed his excitement in his reply:

We can easily find room for as many as you want to bring for as long as you wish. Between Paul [S——], T. Henry [Williams] and ourselves we will have no trouble housing and feeding you and your gang.

---

^*The Sterling P.s, the William R.s, and Fitz M.

September in A.A. History—day unknown

	In 1940, in Pennsylvania, the Philadelphia Group of A.A. made its first prison commitment at the House of Correction     [left, c. 1940]. This commitment continued until the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns began in 2020. (Note that this occurred before the first A.A. meetings at San Quentin Prison, initiated by Warden Duffy [right, c. 1943?] in California, which would start two years later.)

In 1941, Ernie G. married Sue [right], the adopted daughter of Anne and Dr. Bob Smith. He was nearly twice her age. Sue later said,

    I think my dad got the bright idea that if he could get Ernie to take me out, and he’d pay the way, he might be able to get me away from Ray [Windows, her then-boyfriend]. We’d go down and get hamburgers, and Dad would buy them. I knew all that, but I didn’t realize it was in connection with Ray at the time. Now I think it was. I think Dad was using Ernie, and it backfired on him.

    Both her parents strongly objected to the idea of Sue's marriage, and she never informed them of it, assuming they would learn about it from the local papers. Ernie was drunk at the wedding and would not be able to stay sober. The marriage turned out to be a disaster, and Sue eventually divorced Ernie to marry Ray.

In 1947, the A.A. Grapevine published “Records Carefully Kept” by B.H.G., presumably Bud G., the founder of the Central Group in Little Rock, Arkansas [left: looking north down Main Street, 1940]:

    More than five hundred men and women have been initiated into A.A. through the Little Rock Approach Plan…
    It is interesting to note that of these men, the founders of the movement here, all are alive and only one ever had a relapse. They are living, walking proof of the statement that “it works.”
    The Little Rock Plan was, we believe, the first of its kind in the country.… and because this group has kept accurate records and statistics, we can report that our success is better than the national average of 75%…
    When a person has expressed a desire to achieve sobriety and has had a sponsor appointed for him, he must leave his work or position for at least two weeks. Usually the prospect is required to spend that entire time within the confines of the club rooms, studying, preparing a case history, meeting and filling assignments laid out by the sponsor.
    If, after two weeks, he has discharged his assignments to the satisfaction of his sponsor, he is brought before the executive committee and there his request for membership is presented by his sponsor in his presence. In some instances, because of the peculiarity of the case, he may not be admitted for varying periods as high as six months in some cases. However, if he is deemed eligible by the committee, he is brought before the next meeting, receives a warm welcome, is handed a copy of the “Approach Program” and the 12 Steps.…
    We give him a small diary and ask that each day thereafter for 28 days, he record his impressions of the day, any event, whether a happy one or a sad one, and enter therein, “I have not taken a drink this day,” and sign his name.
    At the end of this period he returns the diary to the club, is again welcomed and is admitted to full membership, the privilege of the ballot and an unrestricted part in the activities of the fellowship. He is then assigned to a squad, given some definite task, and encouraged to work, guided by some older member, with new prospects.

September 25 in A.A. History

In 1897, with just $1.87 [~$73 in 2025] and boundless 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.

In 1962, Warren C. [A.A. #12?] spoke to “some 50 men” about Alcoholics Anonymous at the Canton, Ohio, Lion’s Club, as reported [right] two days later in Dover, Ohio’s The Daily Reporter.

September 24 in A.A. History

In 1940, Bill W. [near right] is said to have 12th-stepped Margaret “Bobbie” B. [far right] on this day, although she claimed a sobriety date of March 1940.     A brilliant woman and exceptional communicator, Bobbie had been an aspiring dancer, appearing in supporting roles on Broadway, as well as in Paris and London, before discovering Alcoholics Anonymous and securing employment at its headquarters (as it was then called).

    In February 1942, Bobbie would become the second—and last—national secretary for the Alcoholic Foundation office in New York City, following the departure of the first national secretary, Ruth Hock, who left to get married.

    She would take the lead in responding to over 6,000 letters and telegrams from people with drinking problems and their families seeking help from around the world. She wrote, edited, and mailed thousands of letters. She befriended over 300 A.A. members who fought in World War II. She wrote more than 20 letters to Dr. Sylvester Minogue in Australia to help start A.A. there. Many Australians consider her more of a founder than Bill W. Bobbie worked closely with Bill until her resignation in June 1949. She was so important to the early work of A.A. that Bill regularly included her name along with those of the Trustees, his wife Lois, and co-founder Dr. Bob S. and his wife Anne, in the annual Christmas letter he sent to A.A. members [below: 1944 Christmas letter].

September A.A. History—day unknown

In 1939, Your Faith magazine [right: cover with red arrows pointing to the relevant article] published D. J. Defoe’s interview with Dr. Bob Smith (who is not named), which was titled “I Saw Religion Remake a Drunkard.”

	In 1939, prior to the September 30 publication of an article about A.A. in Liberty magazine, which would be A.A.’s first national publicity, Bill W. [left] wrote to Dr. Bob S. [right], “We are growing at an alarming rate, although I have no further fear of large numbers.”

    Bill’s concern arose from the recent sudden expansion to thirty groups and several hundred members in Cleveland, Ohio. This rapid growth demonstrated that the Fellowship could reach a significant size. A few weeks later, Bill wrote to Dr. Bob again:

    The press of newcomers and inquiries was so great that we have to swing more to the take-it-or-leave-it attitude, which curiously enough, produces better results than trying to be all things at all times at all places to all men.

In 1939, Mort J. [left], a resident of Denver, Colorado, bought a copy of the Big Book, Alcoholics Anonymous. Without even looking at it, he packed it in his suitcase and forgot about it. In November, after coming to in Palm Springs, California, following a weeks-long international spree, still shaking violently, he would find and begin to read it. He would never drink again and would eventually help reestablish A.A. in Los Angeles, California. 

Supporting A.A. in Ukraine

[Note that this post was written in March 2022, shortly after the full-scale invasion of the Ukraine by the Russian Federation.]

An A.A. friend sent me a very well-done flyer for an online A.A. meeting in Kyiv, Ukraine. It's shown to the left, but I've removed the Meeting ID and Passcode; I don't want to make it that  easy to attend. When I first saw it, I thought, "I only wish that we could do something similar for all the Russian alcoholics, who must also be terribly distressed at this time" (especially those in the Russian military).

This flyer was immediately followed by a less well-done message, shown below, purporting to be from "Ukrainian AA Service Center and the Ukrainian AA Service Board" to "the AA World Community." I was skeptical. This looked so much like a myth that I expected to find it debunked at Snopes ("the internet’s definitive fact-checking resource"). I did not. But I did find an article titled, "UKRAINE: New Crisis, Grimly Familiar Disinformation Trends", which said, in part, 

It is a grim measure of the frequency of crisis events in recent years, and the ubiquity of online disinformation, that when a major story breaks — a terrorist attack, a mass shooting, or an act of war — the writers and editors at Snopes can typically predict what comes next. Recycled videos and photographs, stripped from their proper context, and the same old tropes, all designed to inflame or confuse, or even amuse, the reader.

This is followed by a "grim overview of the familiar disinformation trends and recurring memes… in the opening days of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine."

But, as I said, I only later looked on Snopes. First I searched the Internet. To my surprise, I immediately got a hit that looked very promising. It was on the aa.lviv.ua website and looked like this:

Since I don't know what I presumed was Ukrainian, and not having much patience, I immediately had the page automatically translated into English. It is indeed Ukrainian, and here's the English translation I got:

It was only later that I noticed that an English translation of the message follows the Ukrainian on the original, one click further down. I felt stupid and impatient for not looking.

Ultimately, I decided I'd check into the Kyiv online meeting and see if there was some way I could be helpful. I tried to log in a few minutes before it was to start. Due to the meeting having reached capacity, it was impossible to get in. It then occurred to me, If I'm having this much trouble getting in, there are probably Ukrainians who are also unable to get in. It horrified me to think that I could have had a part in disrupting their meeting. If, by some miracle, I had been able to get in, I sure hope I would have realized that the meeting was at capacity and left. But even if I had, my spot would have been filled by a non-Ukrainian.

I tried joining after the meeting was over. It was bedlam. It appeared that most people were unmuted and there were multiple conversations going on at the same time. I saw one man, who appeared to be that single Ukrainian member. He appeared to be quite stressed out. I also saw some A.A.friends of mine, which was disappointing. I only stayed a minute. The last thing they needed at that point was yet one more non-Ukrainian A.A. to join the fray.

Tonight, I learned from a reliable source that only one of the seven or eight regular Ukrainian group members was able to get into the meeting (presumably, the Zoom host). No doubt, many of the attendees had good intentions, although I'm also pretty sure some did not. Clearly, many also didn't think through the consequences of their actions.

And then, very late last night, My friend said that another friend of hers had found a Facebook post about the A.A. meeting in Kyiv earlier, shown at the left. It was so disheartening to read. Yes, many non-Ukrainians—maybe hundreds of them—got to feel good for a minute. Meanwhile, seven or eight locals never got to their meeting.

God As We Understand Him?

 I recently read Bill W.'s essay, “God As We Understand Him: The Dilemma of No Faith”, in The Language of the Heart (originally published as “The Dilemma of No Faith” in the April 1961 issue of the A.A. Grapevine). He begins this essay by saying, “The phrase ‛God As We Understand Him’ is perhaps the most important expression to be found in our whole AA vocabulary.”

For a long time, I've been vaguely uncomfortable with this wording, even though I knew what it meant the first time I heard it. In the last few years, but not in my early sobriety, I've sometimes heard newcomers asking about this expression, “How can anyone understand God?”  in a way that led me to think that perhaps this was an impediment for them. I realized my discomfort is just that. Perhaps understanding is not the best word. I think “God As We Conceive of God” is closer to the intended meaning. It will be interesting to see how the proposed plain language Big Book^* (i.e., Alcoholics Anonymous) will deal with this phrase. If at all.

---

^* If you don't know what this is or what it means, check out Advisory Action #28 (on p 7) in this document: Conference Advisory Actions of the 71st General Service Conference, a list of all such actions adopted at the 71st General Service Conference last April.

19,560 days

Yes, I am still sober, still above ground. My posts slowed down drastically and then stopped altogether because I feared it would become too easy to identify who I was from my posts, due to circumstances of my life. Already, my brother had figured out this was me. For those who don't realize it, I was doing my best to respect Tradition 12. My brother already knew I was a deeply involved member of A.A.

Future posts will probably be less personal, on the whole. I hope this is, at least in part, because I have less interest in myself and more interest in others [v. Alcoholics Anonymous, p 84].

A.A. in these times of pandemic has been a great experience for me personally. Since mid-March 2020, I've attended online meetings on every continent that has them (Antarctica does not, due to insufficient bandwidth). I've been regularly attending meetings all over the US and Canada, as well as in Australia and South Africa. It has also become much easier to find workshops, conventions, conferences, and meetings that focus on topics like Traditions, Concepts, The A.A. Service Manual, and A.A. history. These are topics that I love learning about. I've been sober almost 29 years, been involved in General Service for 25½ of those years, but I sometimes think I've learned more about General Service in the last 16 months than in all the time before. Maybe not. Maybe it just feels that way.

Eighteen years

Still here, still sober, even if I'm not posting. Yesterday I celebrated 18 years of continuous sobriety.