June 9 in A.A. History

1886: John Mark Whalon [right: listening to phonograph records, late 1942], commonly known by his middle name, was born. He would become one of Bill W.’s closest and longest-lasting friends. Mark was featured in a 1943 Life magazine photo essay titled “Life Rides the Route of a Rural Mailman in Vermont” [for which this photograph was taken].

1924: Bill W.’s maternal grandfather, Gardner Fayette Griffith, died in Dorset, Vermont, from valvular heart disease complicated by rheumatism. He and his wife, Ella A. Brock, had begun raising Bill and his younger sister, Dorothy, when Bill was about ten years old. Gardner was buried in the East Dorset Cemetery [left: death record, gravestone].

1935: A month after meeting Bill W. and immediately sobering up, Dr. Bob S. set off on his yearly trip to the American Medical Association Convention in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Bill supported his attending, but his wife, Anne, harbored serious doubts about the trip. True to her fears, Bob began drinking on the train and bought several quarts of liquor before checking into his hotel.

---

As a contract surgeon for the Baltimore and Ohio (B&O) Railroad, Dr. Bob held an employee pass that granted him free travel, not only on the B&O but likely on other lines as well. His probable itinerary was:

• Akron, Ohio, to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on the B&O (3–4 hours)
• Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) (6–7 hours) [near right: B&O system map, 1935]
• Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to Atlantic City, New Jersey, on the Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines (P-RSL) (1½–2 hours) [far right: PRR system map, 1935]

    With typical connection waiting times of 30–90 minutes in Pittsburgh and 30–60 minutes in Philadelphia, the entire journey would have taken 11½ to 15½ hours.

Today in A.A. History—June 9–10

1945: Alcoholics Anonymous in Cleveland, Ohio, celebrated its 10th anniversary by hosting a two-day “Big Meeting” at the Cleveland Music Hall and the Carter Hotel^* [left], located at 1012 Prospect Avenue. Approximately 2,500 attendees participated, representing 36 states, two Canadian provinces, and (one from) Mexico.
    Bill W. reflected on his relationship with Dr. Bob S., stating, “Although we have had many differences, we have never had an angry word.” Dr. Bob shared that he had averaged at least an hour of reading each day for the past 10 years, consistently returning to the fundamental teachings found in the Sermon on the Mount, the Book of James, and the 13th chapter of I Corinthians in the Bible.

---

^*At the time, the chef of the hotel’s swanky Rainbow Room was Ettore “Hector” Boiardi—better known today as Chef Boyardee.

Today in A.A. History—June 9–11

1978: The 21st International Conference of Young People in Alcoholics Anonymous (ICYPAA) was held at the Downtown Marriott in Atlanta, Georgia. Its theme was “Love Will Keep Us Together” [right: registration form, program cover].

June in A.A. History—day unknown

1944: Bernard B. Smith [far left] joined the Alcoholic Foundation Board as a Class A (non-alcoholic) Trustee, replacing Margaret “Daisy” Farrand [near left].

June 8 in A.A. History

1923: In its “University and Educational Notes,” Science magazine indirectly announced [left] that U.S. Secretary of Commerce Herbert Hoover [near right, 1922 ±1] had made “the appointment of Professor Frederick E. B―― [far right, 1923] as chemical trade commissioner to Germany.”

Today in A.A. History—June 8–9

1991: El X Congreso Zonal de Alcohólicos Anónimos [izquierda] se celebró en la ciudad colombiana de San José de Cúcuta. (The 10th Zonal Congress of Alcoholics Anonymous [left] was held in the Colombian city of San José de Cúcuta.)

June in A.A. History—day unknown

1941: [Very early, the 1st?] After a six-week freighter cruise to South America, Lois W. returned to Stepping Stones [right: 1957] in Bedford Hills, New York. She and Bill had moved into the house just days before her departure, and upon her return, Lois discovered Bill had suffered significantly during her absence. “He had tried to create order out of chaos,” said Lois. “The fireplace was the only source of heat in the house, and a bad cold had settled in his chest.” In her memoir, Lois Remembers, Lois recounted the story:

    His cough was getting worse and worse, so he went to the drugstore for medicine [left: Cheracol With Codeine, a typical cough medicine of this era, 3% alcohol (very prominently labeled)]. Like many alcoholics he figured that if the recommended dose was helpful, two or even three times that amount would do more good, so he sipped and sipped from the medicine bottle. When it was about half empty, ideas popped into his head. “Lois is away. I’m alone. Very few people know where I am. Whiskey is what I need to stave off this cold. It would cure me in no time, and no one would know the difference.”
    Quickly he recognized the crazy thinking. He hadn’t thought this way for years and then only twice, not long after he stopped drinking. What had caused this distorted notion? He read the label on the medicine bottle and found there was a high percentage of alcohol in the cough mixture. That was it. Even the small amount of alcohol his system had absorbed was enough to change his thinking. This was a great lesson to us all.

1941: The Minneapolis Group of Alcoholics Anonymous—the first in Minnesota—relocated to larger quarters at 200 E. Franklin Ave. [right, Oct 2008] just two months after its establishment.

1942: Irwin “Irv” M. [left, 1940s–50s] reported there were three sober A.A. members in New Orleans, Louisiana: Albert B., Bruce L., and Alec J.

1942: The first Alcoholics Anonymous group in Parkersburg, West Virginia [right, Feb 1940], began with two members and one prospect.

June 7 in A.A. History

1925: On his way to Mass, 69-year-old Matt Talbot [left: restored photo] collapsed and died of heart failure on Granby Lane in Dublin, Ireland. A manual laborer who spent most of his life alone, Talbot might have gone unnoticed had it not been for the cords and chains found on his body after his death. He was buried in Glasnevin Cemetery [lower left] in Dublin on June 11. In 1972, his remains were moved to a tomb at Our Lady of Lourdes Church on Seán McDermott Street, Dublin [right: “Irish Tribunal Exhumes Body of Matt Talbot,” The Catholic Times, Columbus, Ohio, 11 Jul 1952, p. 3] . Although not formally recognized as a saint, he has been declared Venerable and is considered a patron of those struggling with alcoholism.
    While not directly associated with the history of Alcoholics Anonymous, Talbot’s story is significant and his name is familiar to many A.A. members. By the age of 28, he was considered a hopeless alcoholic, but “took the pledge” (renounced alcohol) and remained sober for the last 40 years of his life.

1933: James Hodges “Jim” R. got sober, more than 18 months before Bill W. Like Bill, he would stay sober for the rest of his life. Jim’s battle with binge drinking led him to The Keswick Colony of Mercy [left, 1920], a religious recovery mission in Whiting, New Jersey, where he would remain for 10+ months before returning home to Baltimore, Maryland. In 1940, he and Jim Burwell started Alcoholics Anonymous in Baltimore. However, when he first learned about and became involved with A.A. remains unclear.

1997: The Akron (Ohio) Beacon Journal published the article “AA Meeting a Piece of History” [left], which discusses the upcoming Founders’ Day celebration.

June in A.A. History—day unknown

1938: [Late] Marty M. [right: at Blythewood, 4 July 1938] arrived at Blythewood Sanitarium in Greenwich, Connecticut, as a charity patient after spending several months at Bellevue Hospital in New York City. She walked in sober and described the difference between the two facilities as “like going from hell to heaven.” Carrying a suitcase of second-hand clothes, she brought with her all her worldly possessions. Marty herself reported

    Worst of all, I had lost my self-respect, confidence, courage and humanity They were far more important losses than material goods. Material possessions could be regained relatively easily, but emotional and spiritual losses take time and hard work.

1940: Stock certificates were issued to the 44 individuals who purchased shares in Works Publishing before May 1940. In April 1942, all of these certificates were sold back and returned to the Alcoholic Foundation [left: one of only two known to be in private hands, dated 20 June 1940].

June 6 in A.A. History

1940: The first Alcoholics Anonymous (A.A.) group in Virginia, met in Richmond [left, 1940s].
    Ted C., who had undergone treatment at Rockland State Hospital in Orangeburg, New York, was returning to Richmond when the Alcoholic Foundation in New York City asked him to be their local contact. One of his early referrals was C. McGhee B., Jr. [right], whom Ted successfully helped to get sober. Together, they founded the group, holding their initial meeting in McGhee’s apartment with ten attendees.
    However, as Bill Wilson later observed, the group’s members “believed in getting away from their wives and drinking only beer.” This mindset proved ineffective, resulting in the group falling apart almost immediately.

1961: Dr. Carl Gustav Jung [near right] died from circulatory problems at his home in Küsnacht, in the canton of Zürich, Switzerland [far right: Jung family gravestone]. He became a full professor of medical psychology at the University of Basel in 1943 but resigned the following year after suffering a heart attack, opting for a quieter, more private life. In 1952, he faced another health setback of unknown description.
    Despite these challenges, Jung continued to publish works until his death, with his final piece being “Approaching the Unconscious,” a contribution to Man and His Symbols [left: cover], which he wrote in early 1961 and was published posthumously in 1964.

1979: In New York City, Lois W., widow of Bill W., presented the 2,000,000th copy of the Big Book, Alcoholics Anonymous, to Joseph Califano, who was the U.S. Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare at the time [below: Dr. Jack Norris, Chair of the General Service Board, presiding over the presentation].

June in A.A. History—day unknown

1938: [Early?] Hank P. wrote 11 pages of general ideas and observations in pencil about the book that would eventually become Alcoholics Anonymous, specifically focusing on the chapter “There Is A Solution,” which was being written by Bill W.. Bill handwrote “Hank’s ideas” at the bottom of the first page [right]. Despite Hank’s attempts to influence Bill’s writing, these notes had minimal effect.
    Interestingly, Hank referred to their method of staying as “The Program,” marking the first recorded use of this term in any known written document.

1938: During his fourth hospitalization for alcoholism, Norman H. from Darien, Connecticut, admitted to his doctor that he considered himself “a thoroughly hopeless case,” despite his previous determination never to drink again after the first hospitalizations. On the second day, the doctor, who many have been Dr. Silkworth, said he knew a way for Norman to stop drinking for good. The following day, a man spoke about alcoholism and a spiritual way of life. Although Norman was impressed by the man’s seriousness, he found his message difficult to comprehend. The man talked about God, but Norman, who did not believe in a higher power, dismissed it as irrelevant. To him, war, illness, cruelty, stupidity, poverty, and greed could not originate from any intentional creation.
    On the fourth day, another visitor—a fellow alcoholic who had been sober for over three years, likely Fitz M. or Hank P.—shared his story. He spoke of how other men had found sobriety by recognizing a power greater than themselves and invited Norman to a meeting at Bill W.’s home in Brooklyn the following Tuesday.
    When Norman told his wife about this group, she worried he might be mentally unstable. However, after meeting the compassionate doctor who recommended it, she agreed he should try it. With little hope and fear of disappointment, they both attended their first meeting that Tuesday. Norman had never felt so inspired.
    This marked the beginning of a new life for him. Gradually, he began to change. In this process, he realized two significant steps: he acknowledged for the first time that all his previous beliefs might be wrong, and he made a conscious decision to attempt to believe.
    Norman's story, “Educated Agnostic,” was published in the first edition of Alcoholics Anonymous.

June 5 in A.A. History

1918: Robert “Smitty” Ripley S. [right, mother and son, father and son], the son of Anne Ripley and Dr. Bob S., was born.

1939:  Ebby T. [left] started a new job. In his own words:

    … through the connections of my brother [the politically influential Jack T., II] I secured a job at the New York State World’s Fair Commission at the fairgrounds [right: aerial view, 1939].

    During this period, he often spent time with Bill and Lois W., and may have even stayed with them. Lois believed he was sober and attending meetings. However, Ebby later confessed,

    I did not sober up. I managed to drink and hold [the job] pretty well, and with so many people there, and crowds, I wasn’t noticed much. I got away with it all summer.

    By fall, though, he was “drinking it up pretty hard.” The following spring, he convinced his boss that “I was again on the straight and narrow” and thus was rehired for the same position.

1947: Alcoholics Anonymous National Secretary Margaret “Bobbie” B. [left] sent a bulletin [right] to A.A. groups, noting several important points, including:

    Pathé Pictures, makers of the “This Is America” movies series, has completed a 15-minute “short” film about Alcoholics Anonymous which will be distributed through RKO. They tell us that this film will be shown soon in neighborhood theatres—we cannot supply it. The film is called “I Am an Alcoholic.” It not only shows how one man recovered through AA, but portrays a reasonable facsimile of the founding of AA in Akron [Ohio] by Bill [W.] and Dr. Bob [S.].… We were unable to cooperate with the makers when the story was filmed.…
    On the subject of movies, MARCH OF TIME has informed us that 16-mm films of PROBLEM DRINKERS are now available through their distributional outlet. Write directly to MARCH OF TIME, 369 Lexington Ave., New York if you would like to rent or buy for a group showing.

    The March of Time newsreel series, which included “Problem Drinkers” [right: screen capture], were shown in thousands of theaters.

1988: An A.A. memorial service for Sybil C. [left, 1985], who died on May 14, just six days before her 90th birthday, was finally held in Los Angeles, California, after several delays caused by A.A. conference schedules. The service lasted over two hours. Sybil got sober in A.A. on 21 March 1941, in Los Angeles, and she was recognized to be the first woman in A.A. west of the Mississippi.

Today in A.A. History—June 5–7

1981: Alcoholics Anonymous in Switzerland celebrated its 25th Anniversary Convention in Geneva. Lois W. and Nell Wing attended together. During the event, they saw the French-language version of the A.A.W.S. film Bill’s Own Story [right].

June 4 in A.A. History

1878: Franklin “Frank” Buchman, Jr. was born in Pennsburg, Pennsylvania, to Sarah Ann Greenawald and Franklin Buchman, Sr. [below left: from left: Sarah, Frank Sr., Frank Jr., and brother Dan, in front of their home in 1894]. A Lutheran by faith, Buchman founded the First Century Christian Fellowship in 1921, which came to be known as the Oxford Group by 1928. In 1938, it was renamed Moral Re-Armament, and in 2001, it became Initiatives of Change. The Oxford Group played a crucial role in the establishment of Alcoholics Anonymous, influencing it more than any other organization.
    Buchman was also honored by the French and German governments for his efforts in promoting Franco-German reconciliation after World War II. He received La Croix de Chevalier de l’Ordre national de la Légion d’honneur (The Knight’s Cross of the National Order of the Legion of Honor) [far left] from France, and Das Großkreuz des Verdienstordens der Bundesrepublik Deutschland (The Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany) [near left] from Germany.

2002: Caroline Knapp [below right], 42, died from lung cancer after getting sober in 1995. She was the author of Drinking: A Love Story [left: cover]. In her obituary, The New York Times noted that

    Ms. Knapp wrote about the disturbing incongruities of her life as what she called a “high-functioning alcoholic”: she was an award-winning journalist, an Ivy League graduate from a well-to-do New England family and by all appearances a happy, healthy and successful young woman. But drinking had slowly taken hold of her life, and she was desperate to conceal its effects.
    She was, she wrote, “smooth and ordered on the outside; roiling and chaotic and desperately secretive underneath, but not noticeably so, never noticeably so.” 
    The book, published by Dial Press in 1996, was praised by critics for its painful honestly in describing the grip of addiction and the difficulty of overcoming it. In a review in The New York Times, Christopher Lehmann-Haupt called it “a remarkable exercise in self-discovery.” The book remained on The New York Times best-seller list for several weeks in both hardcover and paperback editions.

June in A.A. History—day unknown

1935: At Anne’s request, Bill W. moved into the home of Dr. Bob and Anne S. at 855 Ardmore Ave., Akron, Ohio [left]. To demonstrate that he and Bob could coexist with alcohol, Bill insisted on keeping two bottles of liquor in the kitchen [below left] (Anne removed them after Bill’s return to Brooklyn). Both men began working with alcoholics right away, attending Oxford Group meetings on Wednesday evenings at the home of T. Henry and Clarace Williams [near right: T. Henry and Clarace; far right: their living room]. The favorite scripture readings at these meetings included the Sermon on the Mount, I Corinthians 13, and the book of James.

1936: The Oxford Group was at its peak popularity, with between 5,000 and 10,000 people gathering in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, for a meeting in the Berkshires [far left: Berkshire Eagle, 6 Jun 1936]. Meanwhile, a house party in Birmingham, England, which combined elements of a convention and a retreat, attracted 15,000 attendees [right: three attendees].