February 23 in A.A. History

1938: Willard S. Richardson [far left] sent the revised version of “Notes on the Akron, Ohio Survey,” written by Frank Amos [near left], to John D. Rockefeller Jr. [right]. Richardson covered it with letter that included a summary of Amos’s findings:

    Briefly, Dr. [Bob] Smith, an able man and the first convert in that section, is the leader of 40 or 50 men and women in that area. His leadership has lasted nearly three years and is for another two very desirable. But his hard experience with drink makes his rehabilitation as a specialist slow, and the demands made by the former and new alcoholics are heavy. Furthermore, he want to help them medically and spiritually. He is connected with the Akron City Hospital and does important service there. But his office and home facilities are inadeqate. His friends, as Mr. Amos’s report indicates, think if he could be helped financially for one year, possibly two, he would be able by having a secretary, a suitable office, and some other aid, to get fully on his feel professionally and could develop some helpers in the group of good men there and in Cleveland who would take much of the burden of the liquor work. Mr. Amos estimates the cost to do this effectively at $,5000 for the two years.…

    Richardson ended his letter with a guarded endorsement:

    We are very much impressed with some of the leaders in Akron and in this city [New York City], as well as with the devlopment of this service both from a drink and a religious point of view. However, we do not mean to be anything but wise in treatment of the undertaking considering the present conditions and possible growth of this work.

1940: John D. Rockefeller Jr. wrote a letter [right] to Bill W., expressing his regret for being too ill to attend the dinner for A.A. “the other night [8 February],” where his son Nelson had stepped in as host for his father.

1948: The Deseret News of Salt Lake City, Utah, published a nearly full-page article [left] titled “Photographic Series Depicts Work of Alcoholics Anonymous.” The piece featured photographs and text showcasing the efforts and impact of Alcoholics Anonymous.

1959: Alcoholics Anonymous received “Recording for the Blind” permission^* from Recording for the Blind & Dyslexic (RFB&D) to create an audio recording of the Big Book, Alcoholics Anonymous, through the Recording for the Blind & Dyslexic (RFB&D), now known as Learning Ally [right: A.A.’s current four audiobook offerings, up from two in 2024].

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^*A.A.W.S. Inc., the publisher and copyright holder of the Big Book, sought permission to publish an audiobook version, even though it was not strictly necessary. This caution stemmed from the historical treatment of full-length audio editions as separate, licensed derivative works rather than mere accessibility aids. Organizations like RFB&D operated under carefully negotiated copyright agreements, allowing them to record and distribute books solely to individuals with print disabilities. These agreements had strict terms to avoid competing with commercial audio formats. Since this nonprofit—originally founded as Recording for the Blind in 1948, renamed Recording for the Blind & Dyslexic in 1996, and rebranded as Learning Ally in 2011—had long acted as a gatekeeper for these specialized recordings, A.A. adopted a conservative approach, viewing a broadly distributed audiobook version of the Big Book as something that required explicit permission within this established framework.

1978: H. Alfred “Al” S. [left], 74, died in West Palm Beach, Florida [right: obituary]. He made significant contributions to Alcoholics Anonymous, serving as the Director of the New York Intergroup Association and as a Class B (alcoholic) Trustee from January 1958 to April 1961. Additionally, he held leadership positions as the director of A.A. Publishing Inc. and A.A. Grapevine, Inc., and he was the editor of the A.A. Grapevine from 1948 to 1952. Al was also the author of the Responsibility Declaration and the Declaration of Unity.
    His mother, Ella Marks Wenrick, had served as the secretary to Emmet Fox. This connection had allowed Bill W., Ebby T., Al, and others to regularly attend Fox’s talks in New York City, often securing mezzanine seats.

2021: Pastor John Baker [left], 72, co-founder of the Christ-centered program Celebrate Recovery^* (which is not affiliated with Alcoholics Anonymous), died unexpectedly.

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^*Celebrate Recovery is a program addressing a range of “hurts, habits, and hang-ups,” including anxiety, co-dependency, compulsive behaviors, sex addiction, financial dysfunction, drug and alcohol addictions, and eating disorders. It is one of the seven largest addiction recovery support group programs in the country. Celebrate Recovery is a registered trademark, and groups using this name must adhere to a standardized format, using only the Bible and authorized curriculum materials. Group facilitators must be trained and agree to specific expectations, including following standardized guidelines at each meeting. The program incorporates the Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous and eight principles based on Jesus' Beatitudes. Participants are encouraged to form small groups of “accountability partners” who share similar problems and support one another.

February 22 in A.A. History

1842: On the 110th anniversary of George Washington’s birth, Abraham Lincoln [left: 2004 painting by Ned Bittinger] addressed the Springfield, Illinois, Washingtonian Society. At the age of 33, he advocated for “kind, unassuming persuasion” instead of the more forceful temperance efforts of the past. He stated,

    When [we] all… first opened our eyes upon the stage of existence, we found intoxicating liquor, recognized by every­body, used by every body, and repudiated by nobody.
    If we take habitual drunkards as a class, their heads and their hearts will bear an advantageous comparison with those of any other class. There seems ever to have been proneness in the brilliant and warm-blooded to fall into this vice. The demon of intemperance ever seems to have delighted in sucking the blood of genius and of generosity.… He ever seems to have gone forth, like the Egyptian angel of death, commissioned to slay if not the first, the fairest born of every fam­ily.…
    Happy day, when, all appetites controlled, all poisons subdued, all matter subjected, mind, all conquering mind, shall live and move the monarch of the world. Glorious consummation! Hail fall of Fury! Reign of Reason, all hail!

1884: William “Willie” Seabrook [near right, 1931] was born. His memoir, Asylum: An Alcoholic Takes the Cure [center right], would later be cited by Marty M. [far right, 1938] in her story “Women Suffer Too,” which appears in the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th editions of the Big Book, Alcoholics Anonymous.

1949: The Anniston Star, based in Anniston, Alabama, reported [article left] on the 3-year anniversary celebration of the Anniston Group, which took place this evening in their downtown clubhouse (address not provided). The headline read, “AA Anniversary Here,” and the event was open to all.

February 21 in A.A. History

1938: Frank B. Amos [right] presented his “Notes on the Akron, Ohio Survey” to the Rockefeller associates involved with Alcoholics Anonymous: Willard S. “Dick” Richardson, A. LeRoy “Chip” Chipman, and Albert Scott [left, respectively]. Amos later said that “the work being done in Akron was little short of miraculous and that it deserved financial support.”^*
    His report outlined three financial options:

1. Small Hospital: Amos discussed establishing a “small hospital of 30 to 50 beds,” as suggested by Bill W. and Paul S. at the December dinner. He visited two potential sites, estimating they could be purchased and equipped for $75,000 to $100,000 [~$1.7–2.3 million in 2026]. He did not believe they were ready to recommend this option but thought it might be worthwhile in the future.
2. Akron City Hospital and Recovery Home: He proposed continuing to use Akron City Hospital while securing a smaller home for 10 to 12 discharged patients. Amos estimated such a home could be purchased, furnished, and equipped for $25,000 to $30,000 [~$575–690,000 in 2026], with a sober alcoholic, his wife, a maid, and a cook to operate it, and thought it should be self-supporting.
3. Support for Dr. Bob: Amos suggested quietly supporting Dr. Bob in his work with alcoholics, recommending confidentiality with a small, carefully selected committee. He proposed “a monthly remuneration… for at least two years” until the Akron group “could get well going and perhaps be self-supporting in every way.” He outlined needs for this support, including financial assistance for Dr. Bob’s family, a “sympathetic” secretary, a reliable car, and a better office, estimating a total of $5,000 [~$115,000 in 2026] per year for two years (nearly a quarter of that for the secretary).

    Amos’s report ended with a call to eventual action regarding other recovery centers, specifically, New York City and Maryland.
    Little is known about the meeting, except that the four men discussed Amos’ report. Given their long association with John D. Rockefeller Jr. [right], they anticipated he would not pursue the matter further, leading them to recommend option 3. Following the meeting, Amos revised his report by removing significant portions of the original and incorporating the agreed-upon details.
    Years later, Bill W. claimed that Amos would rather have recommended $50,000 [~$1,150,000 in 2026] for option 2, a statement that appears to be inaccurate.

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^*Source: William H. Schaberg, Writing the Big Book: The Creation of A.A., 2nd edition (Las Vegas, NV: Central Recovery Press, 2019), p. 83, describing Frank Amos’ intention as recorded in “History of the Alcoholics [sic] movement up to the formation of the Alcoholic Foundation on Aug. 11, 1938,” original typed document with handwritten date 8/19/38, located in the GSO Archives.

1939: Approximately 400 copies of the Big Book multilith [left: a very rare remaining copy] were distributed to doctors, judges, psychiatrists, A.A. members, and others for feedback.
    At this stage of development, the pre-publication manuscript was 164 pages long and included “The Doctor’s Opinion” along with 20 of 29 planned personal stories. Bill Wilson had titled the manuscript Alcoholic’s [sic] Anonymous, and some early printings bore the the stamp “LOAN COPY” on the cover in an unsuccessful attempt to secure copyright protection. However, since not all copies were stamped, this effectively voided any copyright claim.
    Editor Tom Uzzell [right] had significantly reduced the manuscript’s length, reportedly by trimming the personal stories. Estimates varied on how many pages were cut. According to Bill, Uzzell had

    … sharpened up the English but didn’t change much of anything excepting to take my story out of the story section where it had been the number one story and insisted on using it to open the book… What is now Chapter 2; I had intended to be Chapter 1.

    This is significant because it shows that in the original manuscript, “Bill’s Story” appeared in the “Personal Stories” section, and it was Uzzell who moved it to the front of the book, not Bill.
    Later that same day, Frank Amos [see above right] wrote to Willard Richardson [see above left], noting that

    … the photolith copies of the book are now completed and I am sending one copy with this.… They are quite legible but of course but are put up in cheap form and cannot be compared in attractiveness and readability to the final printed volumes.… The main part of the book has been carefully edited, but the individual stories, occupying the last half of the book, still must undergo considerable editing. Also, there are a number of stories to be added, most of them, I believe from Akron.… [I]f you will let me or Bill know how many of these photolith copies you would like to have, he will see that you get them at once.

1939: Clarence S. [right] wrote a letter to the editor of the Cleveland Press explaining the purpose of Alcoholics Anonymous. In his letter, he included the address of the Alcoholic Foundation in New York City, along with his own address in Cleveland, Ohio, noting that no local central committee was yet in operation.
    He elaborated on how members achieve sobriety by adhering to a specific pattern, which includes the following requirements:

    Have a sincere desire to quit drinking forever. Recognize the allergy and compulsion for lifetime. Recognize his ailment as a disease. Accept God and live by four simple principles: honesty, unselfishness, purity and love.

    He also encouraged readers to consult Alcoholics Anonymous, referring to it as “a book written by alcoholics, for alcoholics, at the Cleveland Public Library.”
    Clarence emphasized the impact of A.A. by noting that:

    The several thousand people, (over 700 in Cleveland alone) who have thus far found life and hope through this means, is ample testimony that the day of miracles has not passed.

Today in A.A. History—February 21–23

2014: The Sedona Mago Center for Well-Being and Retreat [left] in Sedona, Arizona, hosted the Sedona Mago AA History Symposium, which was organized by A.A. historians Jay S. and Bill S. [right, respectively].

February 20 in A.A. History

1939: About 400 pre-publication multilith copies of the Big Book, Alcoholics Anonymous, were delivered to Bill W. and Hank P., although they may have arrived the next day instead.

1941: The Toledo (Ohio) Blade published the final installment of a three-part series on Alcoholics Anonymous by Seymour Rothman [right], which appeared over three consecutive days [left: the series’ headlines, in order].

1947: Charles B. Towns [right: image and obituary] passed away at home. His son, Edward, took over the management of the Charles B. Towns Hospital and continued to operate it until its closure in 1965.

1960: Bill W. celebrated the 20th anniversary of Alcoholics Anonymous in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, by signing a program with the inscription, “For Philadelphia's 20th—Nothing but the very best! Ever Devotedly, Bill” [left: program cover, inscription, respectively].

2007: While hosting CBS’s The Late Late Show with Craig F――, Craig F. openly discussed his past struggles with alcoholism during his opening monologue. He noted that he had been sober for 15 years as of two days earlier, making what seemed to be a thinly veiled reference to Alcoholics Anonymous [right: Craig F. during his monologue, 20 Feb 2007].

February 19 in A.A. History

1917: Robert P. [right: with his wife, Betsy] was born in Kansas City, Missouri, as the only child of his somewhat nomadic parents, Agnes Greenlees and Ridley Stillson P.
    He did not receive formal schooling until the third grade but quickly excelled academically, skipping grades and graduating with honors from Kansas University in 1938 with a Bachelor of Arts. While at KU, he served as editor of both the university’ s humor magazine and yearbook.
    A skilled writer, Bob became the center of a national scandal when a Scribner’s Magazine article, “Ghost Behind the Grade,” published in 1938, revealed that he had paid his way through college by ghostwriting hundreds of grade-specific papers for students across dozens of classes and seven universities. “Both the Associated Press and the United Press carried it,” Bob recalled in a 2004 interview. “It almost cost me my diploma.”
    His writing career took him to New York City, where he worked in public relations for Shell Oil Co. from 1938 to 1971. While there, he met and married Betsy Dodge.
    When World War II began, Bob enlisted as a U.S. Navy officer and served as a gunnery officer aboard a destroyer escort, participating in numerous Atlantic convoys. He also wrote speeches for a Navy admiral and two U.S. presidents—Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry Truman. His ship played a key role in the historic capture of a German U-boat north of the Azores—just days before D-Day. This marked the first time a submarine was boarded and seized intact, preserving its hardware and Enigma radio codes, later dramatized in the film U-571. Bob was honorably discharged in 1945 with the rank of lieutenant commander.
    After the war, Bob and Betsy settled in Riverside, Connecticut. His most notable achievements at Shell Oil involved the company’s sponsorship of major sports. Working with NBC, he played a crucial role in popularizing golf by bringing the sport to live television for the first time with Shell’s Wonderful World of Golf. He also played a role in Shell’s sponsorship of Craig Breedlove’s efforts, which began in 1962, to break the world land speed record in a jet-propelled car at the Bonneville Salt Flats.
    However, it was Bob’s personal struggles that ultimately defined his life. He developed an addiction to alcohol during his Navy service, and two decades later, nearly died from the disease. In 1961, doctors urged him to join a fledgling Alcoholics Anonymous group in Greenwich, Connecticut. He did, found sobriety and dedicated himself to nearly 50 years of service to the organization.

1940: Time magazine [left: cover] published a brief item titled “Medicine: Alcoholics Anonymous,” highlighting the 60-person Rockefeller dinner meeting held earlier in the month, where A.A. members and supporters gathered.

1940: Newsweek magazine [right: cover] featured an article titled “Alcoholics Anonymous” in its SCIENCE section. It began:

    Medicine usually claims to cure only about 2 per cent of the cases of acute alcoholism it treats. Last week a non-medi­cal group appeared which made the unusual claim that 25 per cent of its cases were cured. Called Alcoholics Anony­mous, the group was a club composed of ex-drunkards and men trying to overcome the liquor habit who, for obvious reasons, prefer their names to remain unknown. Not particularly anxious for publicity, it nevertheless came into the limelight last Thursday evening when John D. Rockefeller Jr. gave a dinner party for educators and others interested in the club’s work.

1941: Bill W. wrote to the trustees of the Alcoholic Foundation Board about the budget for the upcoming year. Here are edited excerpts:

    Many new groups have been formed. Our membership has tripled, now totaling about 2,000... An article is to appear on March 1 in the Saturday Evening Post... The name Alcoholics Anonymous will appear on the outside cover. Our message will be brought to the whole nation—nearly a million alcoholics will hear of us… only a very small proportion of our book sales have come directly from the groups. The general public still buys most of the books... the Alcoholic Foundation should set up a special account called ‘AA operating expenses.’ All contributions from the groups should be segregated in this fund... each group is entitled to know exactly how such money is spent... an accounting ought to be made by the Trustees every six months showing [finances]…

1941: The Park City Daily News of Bowling Green, Kentucky, reported on the establishment of a new A.A. group in Hopkinsville [left: article].

1953: After reading a quip that Father Ed Dowling [right] had written on a Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions draft—“It has a little bit of the elder statesman smell of the lamp*”—Bill W. responded with humor: “We have given the manuscript a heavy dose of chlorophyll to deaden that elder statesman smell.”
*Father Ed’s complete statement was “I suspect that The Steps will be a book to be meditated rather than read. It contains the basic message. The audience identification is there. It has dignity, reverence and stylistic readability. It has a little bit of the elder statesman smell of the lamp. I sense that it makes a Scylla and Charybdis route between admiring laity in the boxes and the needy drunks in the gutter.”

1967: Father “John Doe” (Ralph P.) [left], believed to be the first Catholic priest in A.A., passed away. Glenn C. later recounted:

    His niece told me that a physician gave Ralph a shot for airsickness and inadvertently used a contaminated needle. Father Ralph contracted hepatitis, and all the efforts made by the doctors at Our Lady of Mercy Hospital in Owensboro could not save him.

    Father Ralph had gotten sober in Indianapolis, Indiana, on 10 November 1943, and remained so for the rest of his life. He was well-known for his Golden Books series and other writings related to recovery.

2017: Melvin “Mel” B. [right], 91, sober from 15 April 1950, died of heart and lung failure at Mercy Health St. Anne Hospital in Toledo, Ohio. A retired public relations manager for Libbey-Owens-Ford Co., he was a prolific writer, contributing to The Toledo Blade and authoring many books and articles, including Pass It On and many pieces for the A.A. Grapevine.

February 18 in A.A. History

1942: Father Ed Dowling [right] wrote to Bill W.:

    In the confusion of World War II, the AA personality is keeping an easy pace, convinced that somehow, some time, the cockeyed world will land on its feet. I am grateful to God for the AA virus in my spiritual blood stream.

1943: The U.S. federal government granted A.A. members the right to use cars for emergency 12th-step work, even amidst the nationwide gasoline rationing that began on 1 December 1942. While most citizens were restricted to just three gallons of gasoline per week—except for factory workers and traveling salesmen, who received eight gallons—A.A. members were permitted an exemption for this important service. Note that the rationing of gasoline was implemented not to conserve fuel, but to preserve rubber [left: ration card].

February 17 in A.A. History

1939: The final typed draft of the Big Book [near right: one of very few remaining copies] was sent to the multilith—likely not the newer photolith process—printer [far right: Addressograph-Multigraph Corporation Multilith Model 1227, commonly called a “duplicator,” introduced in 1933]. While this event may have occurred on Monday, 20 February, it seems more likely that it took place the previous Friday. This date is supported by a letter from Alcoholic Foundation trustee Frank Amos to Dorothy Critchfield on Thursday, 16 February, in which he said that the book “is about ready for press.” Then, on Tuesday, 21 February, he informed fellow trustee Willard Richardson that “the photolith copies of the book are now completed,” and enclosed a copy for him.

1940: James B., known as “Jim” or “Jimmy,” [left, c. 1918] reached out to Charlie B., whom he had met at a New York City Alcoholics Anonymous meeting about two years earlier. Having recently moved from New York to Philadelphia just four days earlier for a “very good new position,” Jimmy was eager to connect, since he had two years of sobriety.
    Charlie had read the newly published book Alcoholics Anonymous. Together they decided to establish a Philadelphia A.A. group. At that time, only three other A.A. groups existed in the world: in Akron, Ohio; New York City; and Cleveland, Ohio.

1943: John Henry Fitzhugh “Fitz” M. [near right] married Mrs. Ruth Helen Monroe Jelly [far right] in Harrison, Mississippi. Tragically, he would die from cancer in October.

1953: Margaret “Bobbie” B. [right] committed suicide. She had succeeded Ruth Hock as the National Secretary for the Alcoholic Foundation, becoming only the second—and last—person to hold this position.
    From early 1942 until mid-1949, Bobbie had served as the primary contact for all A.A. groups worldwide, personally responding to most letters sent to the Alcoholic Foundation. Unbeknownst to Bill W., she had become addicted to her work. In her letters, she confessed that she couldn’t stop. Driven by her responsibilities, she continued to work late into the evenings at home, leaving little time for her own recovery. Although she had initially joined A.A. as a member struggling with a drinking problem, she gradually lost touch with her own program—neglecting meetings and forgoing a sponsor.
    In 1949, Bobbie had resigned from her position at the A.A. national office. Almost immediately, she relapsed and struggled with her addiction for the next four years. Ultimately, the disease had overwhelmed her, and she took her own life in February 1953.
    Her passing was a tragic loss for Bill W. and for the many people she had introduced to A.A. Bobbie was deeply mourned and remembered around the world.

February 16 in A.A. History

1938: Rockefeller associate Frank Amos [left] returned home from his trip to Akron, Ohio, where he evaluated the members and program of Alcoholics Anonymous. According to reports, he left with a positive impression of A.A. in Akron. The following day, Dr. Bob S. would write to Bill W., describing “a very delightful visit from Mr. Amos” and noting that “he seemed very favorably impressed.”
    Frank would spend the next four days preparing a four-page report titled “Notes on Akron, Ohio Survey” for John D. Rockefeller Jr. and his other associates.

1941: Maryland’s The Baltimore Sunday Sun published Harrison Johnston’s article on Alcoholics Anonymous titled “John Barleycorn’s Victims Seek Strength in Unity” [right]. The article featured a rearview photo of an A.A. group and read, in part:

    The story of “Alcoholics Anonymous,” which now includes a Baltimore group, is the story, in the words of one of its members, of a “bunch of drunks trying to help one another stop drinking.…”
    “Alcoholics Anonymous” meet regularly as a group twice a week—once in a semi-formal “business” meeting, once in a completely informal and spontaneous social gathering—without benefit of alcohol. They base their hopes of success on a mystical belief in aid from without themselves (all else having failed), from God, “as we understand Him,” and on constant association with other alcoholics who can understand and help them and whom they in turn can understand and try to help. They may thereby draw upon the companionship of other alcoholics, men and women like themselves with whom they alone are psychologically able to discuss their difficulties, and try to lose themselves in the rehabilitation of others even less controlled than they, a proven form of uplift characteristic of all group organizations, the church itself not least among them.
    From out this mixture, without any recourse whatsoever to medicine, “Alcoholics Anonymous” claims complete success—with no relapses—with about fifty per cent of its members (always supposing them to be sincere in their efforts to stop), and eventual success—after occasional relapses—with an additional twenty-five per cent.…
    The Baltimore group was founded only eight months ago, in June, 1940, and now numbers about forty members, of whom five are women.

1945: Charles Welch, a non-alcoholic [left], was appointed Honorary Lifetime Vice President [near right: certificate] of the first A.A. group in Vancouver, British Columbia. After his wife’s earlier death from alcoholism, he had opened his home [far right] to host the group’s meetings for the first six months.
    Welch also initiated advertising for A.A. in Vancouver. The first ads [left: example] appeared in The Vancouver Daily Province from 16 November 1944, to 1 February 1952, helping to increase membership from just 4 to 41. Subsequently, similar ads ran in The Vancouver Sun from 2 January 1945, to 27 June 1951, and in The Vancouver News-Herald from 20 September 1949, to 6 July 1951, further broadening A.A.’s presence in Vancouver.

1978: The Computerized Bulletin Board System (CBBS), recognized as the first public dial-up BBS, officially went online [right: original CBBS hardware]. Developed by Ward Christensen and Randy Suess, members of the Chicago Area Computer Hobbyists’ Exchange (CACHE), CBBS transformed early digital communication.
    This system maintained a running tally of callers, recording a total of 253,301 connections before its retirement around 1990. Although no supporting documentation exists, it seems likely that some A.A. members who were knew each other would have used CBBS to share experience, strength and during the early days of online interaction.