Significant December Dates in A.A. History

Dec 1934 - Bill & Lois start attending Oxford Group meetings.
Dec 1934 to May 1935 - Bill works with alcoholics, but fails to sober
any of them. Lois reminds him HE is sober.
Dec 1938 - Twelve Steps written.
Nov/Dec 1939 - Akron group withdrawals from association with Oxford
Group. Meetings moved from T Henry & Clarence Williams to Dr Bob and
other members homes.
Dec 1939 - First AA group in mental institution, Rockland State
Hospital, NY.
Dec 1939 - 1st home meeting in Los Angeles at Kaye M.'s house.
Dec 1939 - Matt Talbot Club has 88 members, uses wagons to collect
old furniture to recondition & sell, not A.A., used A.A. program,
material, marked 1st effort reach alcoholics outside married middle-
class category.
Dec 1940 - 1st AA group formed in St. Louis, Missouri.
Dec 1940 - group started Ashtabula, Ohio due to Plain Dealer
articles. A.A. Cleveland has about 30 groups.
Dec 1948 - Dr. Bob's last major talk, in Detroit.
Dec 1950 - Grapevine article signed by both Bill and Dr Bob recommend
establishing AA General Service Conference.
Dec 1955 - 'Man on the Bed' painting by Robert M. first appeared in
Grapevine. Painting originally called 'Came to Believe'
Dec 1982 - Nell Wing retires from GSO after 35 years of service.
Dec 1, 1940 - Chicago Daily Tribune begins a series of articles on AA
by Nall Hamilton.
Dec 5, 1985 - Dave B, founder of Montreal Group dies weeks before
50th anniversary. His story added to the 4th Edition Big Book.
Dec 6, 1939 - Bert the Tailor lends Works Publishing $1000.
Dec 6, 1979 - Akron Beacon reports death of Henrietta Sieberling.
Dec 7, 1949 - Sister Ignatia received Poverello Medal on behalf of
A.A.
Dec 10, 1975 - Birds of a Feather AA group for pilots is formed.
Dec 11, 1934 - Bill admitted to Towns Hosp 4th/last time
(fall '33, '34 in summer, midsummer and final admittance).
Dec 11, 1941 - Dallas Morning News reports 1st AA group formed in
Dallas.
Dec 12, 1934 - Bill has Spiritual Experience at Towns Hospital.
Dec 12, 1937 - Bill meets with Rockefeller Foundation and tries to
get money.
Dec 13, 1937 - Rockland State Mental Hospital takes patients to
meeting in New Jersey.
Dec 13 or 14, 1934 - Ebby visited Bill at hospital, brought William
James's book, "Varieties of Religious Experience".
Dec 19, 1939 - Los Angeles holds their 1st AA meeting.
Dec 20, 1945 - Rowland H dies (he carried the Oxford Group message to
Ebby).
Dec 27, 1893 - Rev Samuel Shoemaker is born.

Message 4665 asked about a sentence in the
Foreword to the Second Edition:

"Of alcoholics who came to A.A. and really
tried, 50% got sober at once and remained
that way; 25% sobered up after relapses,
and among the remainder, those who stayed on
with A.A. showed improvement."

The question asked what it meant when it
said they "showed improvement"?

We got no response from the experts.  I
therefore was wondering if any members of
the group had any ideas as to where I could
look to do a bit more research.

Thanking you kindly
many gentle blessings
leah

- - - -

From the moderator: again, this is a very
good question. The second edition of the
Big Book came out in 1955.

At that point in AA history, were there
people who felt that it was doing at least
a little bit of good if alcoholics could
be persuaded to drink a little bit less
when they went on binges? Or went on binges
a little bit less often?

I know this contradicts present AA philosophy,
which is that only total abstinence will
work. But if this statement is being made in
the Foreword to the Second Edition of the
Big Book, were there AA people at that point
who felt differently?

Glenn C. (South Bend, Indiana, USA)

In the Old-Time Minneapolis A.A. Beginners
Classes Instructor's Outline:

http://hindsfoot.org/mnclass1.html

In the material for Class #1 it says:

"(5a) Alcoholics have a high intelligence --
keenly reactive nervous systems -- tell
Dr. Schneider's story -- 400 families --
Johns Hopkins."

Who or what was the "Dr. Schneider's story
-- 400 families -- Johns Hopkins" about?

thank you,

Terry Walton

While searching for AA speaker tapes I ran
across a Charlie Brockwell tape where he
claims to be AA # 6.

Says he started the sober life on 1-5-1934 by
using the Bible and willpower. Claims Dr Bob
heard about him and asked him to come to Akron
and help with Big Book. He uses his arrival
in Akron, 2-7-1936 as his AA sobriety date,
which put him behind Fitz Mayo.

Claims responsibility for the last sentence
on page 164 " May God bless you and keep you
- until then."

Seems funny his name does not appear in AA
literature if he was that helpful?

I used Dicobe Tapes Inc. Bellevue NE
www.dicobe.com 1 800 999 3381

I have 2 tapes

1045 Charlie B. at San Luis Obispo,
California 4-26-1976

9568 Charlie B. 6th AA member, 2 AA talks
in California 8-15-1980

Hope this is helpful.

Blessings
Richard

From: Shakey1aa@...
(Shakey1aa at aol.com)

Are there any membership numbers showing how
the growth of AA membership in the USA/Canada
is compared to AA throughout the rest of the
world?  And what has been the membership
numbers of AA since its beginnings in the
USA/Canada alone and in comparison to the
rest of the world?

AA in the UK has a great video on their
web site.

See the video here. It is very good.

"Alcoholics Anonymous UK Newcomers:
http://www.alcoholics-anonymous.org.uk/newcomer/videoh.shtml

Australia AA has a great set of posters
(previously posted).

Yours in Service,
Shakey Mike Gwirtz
Going to 12th Annual National AA Archives
Workshop in Niagara Falls NY
September 11-14, 2008
contacts Tom B 716-895-8461 Tombar@...
(Tombar at aol.com)

I am making new page on my aabibliography.com
website regarding Barry Leach.

What biography did he write about Lois Wilson?

was he involved in Lois Remembers?

Does anyone have photo of Barry they could
furnish me?

The page is
http://www.aabibliography.com/barry_leach_living_sober.html

Any Member of this group have info they want
to add, please contact me.

Is Barry's partner still alive? anyone know
him? or how to contact him?

I was also wondering if anyone had any idea
of how to contact Audrey Borden mentioned in
one of the posts. She is the author of the
book the History of Gay People in Alcoholics
Anonymous. Haworth Press 2007

thanks in advance
LD Pierce editor aabibliography.com

sober 12 years june 15 2007
eztone at hotmail dot com

Was Ed Webster sponsored by Dr. Bob?

When Dr. Bob said we needed a blue collar
approach to some of the literature, was it
Ed Webster who then wrote the 4 early Akron
pamphlets?

- - - -

From the moderator, Glenn C: we need a good
short biographical article on Ed Webster,
Barry Collins, and early Minneapolis AA. What
I have been able to dig up is the following.

The Hindsfoot material, which has some
photographs, but only scratches the surface
in terms of giving a thorough historical
account:

http://hindsfoot.org/ed01.html
http://hindsfoot.org/ed02.html
http://hindsfoot.org/mnfound1.html
http://hindsfoot.org/edbarrm1.html
http://hindsfoot.org/mnclass1.html

There is a History of Greater Minneapolis
Intergroup at:

http://www.aaminneapolis.org/pages/history.html

"Alcoholics Anonymous began in Minneapolis
with a 12 Step call made during the Armistice
Day Blizzard in November of 1940 by two men
visiting from Chicago. [Chan F. & Bill L.]
The first AA meetings in Minneapolis were
eventually held at 2218 First Avenue South.
It didn’t take long for those first meetings
to spawn new meetings at new locations, often
in the homes of AA members. By the early
sixties Alcoholics Anonymous had grown beyond
Minneapolis, with meetings in the suburbs,
including Richfield, Robbinsdale, Fridley
and Columbia Heights.

"Due to this growth, the AA members of Greater
Minneapolis realized there was a need for
further reaching 12 step services. They had
the vision of an Intergroup Service Office
that would provide vital 12 step services,
such as phone answering 24 hours a day by
sober members of AA, lists of AA members
willing to do 12 step calls and a published
AA meeting directory. Your Service Office is
one of 500 Intergroup/Central Offices in the
United States and Canada. The first Intergroup
Office in Minnesota was opened in St. Paul in
1966.

"The Minneapolis Intergroup Office that you
know today was opened in September 1968 at
24 East Franklin Avenue. Since then, the
office has moved several times. Many our
members recall visiting the office at 6300
Walker Avenue in St. Louis Park, which was
our home for 15 years. The office moved to
its current location, 7204 West 27th Street
in St Louis Park August 1, 2000 over 6 years
ago."

There is also a brief reference to the
beginning of Minneapolis AA on silkworth.net:

http://www.silkworth.net/aahistory_names/namesp.html

"Pat C. - Minneapolis A.A.; Chicago's Chan F.
& Bill L. carried him message 1940; tried
start A.A. & club same time."  (Alcoholics
Anonymous Comes of Age, page 95)

Did those groups keep records of the prospects
who didn't meet their requirements and were
refused membership?

I'm interested in learning how many of the
"rejects" eventually died from alcoholism.

Jim S.

--- In AAHistoryLovers@yahoogroups.com, "hartsell" <hartsell@...>
wrote:
>
> Terry, you have come across "The Little Rock
> Approach Plan", which by the way, was pretty
> dang effective. I lived in Arkansas for about
> 17 years from 1969, and when I first moved
> back up there it was a surprise to find that
> they had their own "approach" to "working" the
> A.A. Program, but what was really interesting
> was that it seemed to have been working very
> well for them for quite some time.
>
> There exists a book on their approach; I had a
> copy which I loaned to a half-way house in
> Tyler years ago and never got back.
>
> There have been a number of semi-formal
> approaches to "working" the Program in
> various cities and locations around the
> country over the years, including the
> Dallas/Ft Worth area. Most all had more in
> common than not, if they were effective.
>
> Sherry
>
> - - - -
>
> From: "Debi Ubernosky" <dkuber1990@...>
> (dkuber1990 at verizon.net)
>
> I used to have a xerox copy of the collection
> of "membership rules" that all the groups sent
> in to the central office at Bill's request
> when he was working on the traditions.  I
> think you can get a copy of this from GSO.
>
> See the discussion of these rules in the
> 12 & 12, the chapter on Tradition 3, pages
> 139-141.
>
> - - - -
>
> From: "Mitchell K." <dkuber1990@...>
> (dkuber1990 at verizon.net)
>
> The Jackson Michigan Plan is very similar
> to the Little Rock one.
>

You can ask Chuck's wife, Lee.  She still
goes to meetings at the Marina Center and
Studio Group although she's been in a hospice
recently on account of a broken knee.

- - - -

Message 4709 from jt417552@...
(jt417552 at aol.com)

I remember in the early 70's ... in Santa
Monica ... Chuck helped a very old man with
a beard and a funny looking cane out of
his car and up the steps ... The old guy
was helped to a seat and to my surprise
became the main speaker that day. He told
of getting sober in the Oxford group a year
before Bill W and joining AA in time to help
write part of Chapter Three.

The now deceased Chuck and his wife Lee
Cohen were solid AA's, both in their early
60's ...

Do any of you know of a "Charlie" who got
sober in the Oxford Group a year before Bill
W. and Dr. Bob got sober, who later became
an AA member?

Thanks,
JT

1st Printing of the 2nd Edition (1955) is
also the first time Dr. Jung's name appears
in the Big Book (2nd Edition - pg 27) for
those who might like to know.

Ron

- - - -

Message 4716
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/AAHistoryLovers/message/4716
Re: When did Dr. Silkworth's name get printed in the BB?

The First Printing of the Second Edition on
both pages xxiv and xxx.

Tommy H in Baton Rouge

Terry, you have come across "The Little Rock
Approach Plan", which by the way, was pretty
dang effective. I lived in Arkansas for about
17 years from 1969, and when I first moved
back up there it was a surprise to find that
they had their own "approach" to "working" the
A.A. Program, but what was really interesting
was that it seemed to have been working very
well for them for quite some time.

There exists a book on their approach; I had a
copy which I loaned to a half-way house in
Tyler years ago and never got back.

There have been a number of semi-formal
approaches to "working" the Program in
various cities and locations around the
country over the years, including the
Dallas/Ft Worth area. Most all had more in
common than not, if they were effective.

Sherry

- - - -

From: "Debi Ubernosky" <dkuber1990@...>
(dkuber1990 at verizon.net)

I used to have a xerox copy of the collection
of "membership rules" that all the groups sent
in to the central office at Bill's request
when he was working on the traditions.  I
think you can get a copy of this from GSO.

See the discussion of these rules in the
12 & 12, the chapter on Tradition 3, pages
139-141.

- - - -

From: "Mitchell K." <dkuber1990@...>
(dkuber1990 at verizon.net)

The Jackson Michigan Plan is very similar
to the Little Rock one.

Anybody ever hear of a "blackout" ???

- - - -

From: "ricktompkins" <ricktompkins@...>
(ricktompkins at comcast.net)

I can give you an AA definition ... getting
a second wind!

Or, regular bad planning...(the gin fix).

- - - -

From: David Jones <jonesd926@...>
(jonesd926 at aol.com)

Bill W. could possibly referring to the
bedevilments to be found on page 52.

Dave

An excerpt from Michael Quinion re the "mental
fog" writing in International English from a
British standpoint.

BROWN STUDY

[Q] From Ken Jaede: "I once read the expression
brown study somewhere. I think it meant
something like a morose mood or mental fog.
Do you know the origin and true meaning of
this  expression?"

[A] Its first meaning in the language was
indeed a state of gloomy meditation. These
days it usually means a state of abstraction,
absent-mindedness or deep thought. The
expression is old, dating at least from
the sixteenth century. We've now lost the
original meanings of both halves of the
phrase and so it has long since  turned
into an idiom. Brown does refer to the colour,
but it seems that in the late medieval period
it could also mean no more than dark or gloomy
and it was then transferred figuratively to
the mental state. A study at that time could
be a state of reverie or abstraction, a sense
of the word that is long since obsolete.

Much closer to AA, Dr Carl Gustav Jung also
referred to a "mental fog" see NNDB on Carl
Jung at the site listed below.

http://www.nndb.com/people/910/000031817

where it says "But after sustaining a head
injury, which incurred fainting spells
requiring him to stay home from school, he
became so disgusted with himself (upon over-
hearing his father's fear for his future) that
he managed to overcome both the physical
handicap and his lazy habits to become a
promising young scholar. But this transition,
remarkable on its own, was marked by a peculiar
incident that served to awaken Jung's interest
in the nature of mind and in paranormal
phenomena. One day while walking home from
school, he experienced himself suddenly coming
out of a profound mental fog. He felt as if he
were finally "himself". But more remarkably
he also felt that this self was simultaneously
12-year-old Carl Jung and a wise old man who
had previously lived  in the 1700s. Paranormal
events of this nature, or more particularly
experiences  of trance mediumship and clair-
voyance, were not unknown in Jung's family.
And in  college his curiosity of such
phenomena led him to conduct considerable
research, the skeptical results of which
formed the basis of his doctoral  thesis.
Although Jung concluded that many self-
proclaimed trance mediums were  really
"channeling" some kind of repressed psycho-
logical disturbance, he would  later state
an unequivocal belief that some psychic
phenomena, particularly  telepathy, was
genuine."

I hope this helps.
Going to Niagara Falls in 10 months...
Shakey Mike Gwirtz
Phila, Pa

***************************************

In a message dated 11/21/2007 7:12:29 P.M. Eastern Standard Time,
cmpvandango@... writes:

Big Book page 6: "An all night place supplied
me with a dozen glasses of  ale .... Then a
mental fog settled down. Gin would fix that.
So two  bottles, and -- oblivion."

The question raised by one of our members is
whether anyone in this web group can enlarge
on what Bill meant by a  "mental fog." Does
anyone have a medical definition of this
meaning  ?

Many Thanks

Carl P

The controversy and conflict that AAWS created
in San Diego 1995 will long be remembered as
a blatant violation of our principles of
self-support, anonymity, corporate poverty
and a faith in a higher power to ensure our
survival. We do not solicit anything but
goodwill from outside entities - ever.

During the San Diego ignominy, a member of
the GSO staff was so offended by AAWS's
panhandling that he started a grass roots
movement to get $5 from every AA member in
order to return the $150,000 to the city
treasurer. He soon "retired" from GSO.
Box 4-5-9 is published by AAWS to provide
information and defenses about itself and
its actions. It is by no means objective.

- - - -

From the moderator: there was a lengthy
discussion of the San Diego controversy in
the AAHistoryLovers, where one can read in
greater detail about both those who took
Lee's position (above) and those who were
on the other side of the debate.

See especially:

Message 4106
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/AAHistoryLovers/message/4106

Message 4110
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/AAHistoryLovers/message/4110

Glenn C. (South Bend IN)

Go to the official AA website at

http://www.aa.org

and click on "services for members"

http://www.aa.org/en_services_for_members.cfm

then on that page, look in the left hand
column at all the tiny print until you find
one that says "AA Guidelines."  on the AA
Guidelines page,

http://www.aa.org/en_services_for_members.cfm?PageID=36

there will be a pull-down list with all kinds
of Guidelines that are published by GSO/AAWS.
"Guidelines" are collections of experience
and suggestions only, not mandates.  But there
is an "AA Guideline on Conferences, Conventions
and Roundups" that you can download.

http://www.aa.org/en_pdfs/mg-04_conferenceandconv.pdf

You should find it to be very helpful.

happy thanksgiving!

debi

- - - -

From the moderator: see especially these
two paragraphs.

Selfsupport. Based on A.A. experience shared
with G.S.O., committees have found it best
not to solicit for outside donations of any
kind. This is in keeping with our A.A.
principle of selfsupport. (This does not
pertain to ordinary business negotiations
with the facility where the event is taking
place.)

Professional Assistance. Don't hesitate to
avail yourself of assistance from local
chamber of commerce officials and convention
managers. They already know all about the
problems you'll be facing, and they can
give invaluable advice and assistance.

Hi Michael,

In 2004 it was recommended that the General
Service Conference support the General Service
Board Policy as amended on November 2, 2003
which reads:

"Whenever a discount or subsidy is that which
would be offered to any other organization
of similar size requiring a purchased service
or product of similar character and magnitude,
for example, convention rates at hotels, it
may be accepted.  Whenever a discount or
subsidy is partly or in total offered because
we are Alcoholics Anonymous, it must be
declined."

This text and more can be found in a book
called Advisory Actions of the General Service
Conference of Alcoholics Anonymous. 1951-2006,
on page 54, under the year 2004.

I hope that this helps.

Your friend

Michael H.
billsfriend@...
(billsfriend at att.net)

- - - -

From: <Jayaa82@...>
(Jayaa82 at earthlink.net)

The decision was if it is offered to all
groups of a similar kind you can take it,
if it is only offered to AA, you cannot.

Jay Moore
Archivist, Area 54

- - - -

From: James Blair <jblair@...>
(jblair at videotron.ca)

Also are you addressing discounts, perks
or taxpayers' cash to offset costs?

Jim

- - - -

From: "Mike B." <mikeb384@...>
(mikeb384 at verizon.net)

Yes, there was an article in Box 4-5-9 about
the discount at San Diego, and it was within
a year after the 1995 convention.

I worked in the convention and trade show
industry for 41 years before retiring and
it is indeed a common business practice among
cities and convention bureaus, to offer
rebates or underwriting on shuttle buses,
etc.  The amount is usually based on the
number of hotel rooms the group picks up,
and it amounts to the participating hotels
slightly lowering their rates based on volume.

As I recall, the article in 4-5-9 affirmed
that it is all right for an AA group to
accept a business discount that is normally
offered in the marketplace.

Mike B.

- - - -

From: "Righteous Thug" <righteousthug@...>

We have a situation where we are starting a
convention and the city has offered us a 50%
discount as a 501c3. This is offered to any
501c3.

There's your answer.  There is no requirement
that AA conventions/groups, etc., have to
pay more than the going rate.  Looks like
they're offered you the going rate for
501(c)(3)'s.  Take it.

/rt

Hi Glenn,

    Thank you for this information about Rich
Walker.  I believe I helped you get in touch
with his son, whom I met briefly while they
were still living in New Hampshire.

    I did not know that Rich's father was a
signer of the 1933 Humanist Manifesto, a
document I sometimes review.  It is interest-
ing that this manifesto came out just a year
before Bill Wilson had his spiritual experi-
ence that led to the founding of AA.  I
believe Jung also published "Modern Man in
Search of a Soul" around the same time.

    As you know, there have been additional
Humanist Manifestoes but some of us continue
to believe in a Higher Power of Love and
Intelligence.  When we will learn?

Mel Barger
melb@...
(melb at accesstoledo.com)

   ----- Original Message -----
   From: Glenn Chesnut
   To: AAHistoryLovers group
   Sent: Thursday, November 22, 2007 6:12 PM
   Subject: [AAHistoryLovers] New information on Richmond Walker


   Richmond Walker, the second most-published
   AA author (who wrote Twenty-Four Hours a Day)
   couldn't get sober until the death (in 1942)
   of his father, Joseph Walker, a very well
   known American atheist.

   Even then, Rich said in the lead he gave in
   Rutland, Vermont, on January 1, 1958,
   that when he fell down on his knees and
   prayed, he found himself saying, "God, if
   there is a God," help me get sober. He still
   wasn't sure, in other words, that his
   father might not have been right in claiming
   that God could not possibly exist.

   But "seeing is believing," as Rich said,
   and once he called upon God wholeheartedly,
   and began going to AA meetings in Boston,
   he was able to get sober and stay sober.
   His continued sobriety was the proof of
   God's reality and power.

   One of the most notorious atheistic documents
   of the 1930's was the Humanist Manifesto
   published in the May/June 1933 issue of The
   New Humanist (VI:3:1-5).

   One of the thirty-four well known figures who
   signed this manifesto was Joseph Walker, who
   a year earlier had published a book entitled
   "Humanism As a Way of Life."

   This Joseph Walker was the father of Richmond
   Walker, as I mentioned, the second most
   published AA author, who got sober in Boston
   in May 1942 -- Rich made the decision to
   attend AA and get sobered up while he was
   at his father Joseph's funeral.

   By 1948, Rich had come to a rich and deep
   understanding of God, and published the
   meditational book "Twenty-Four Hours a Day"
   under the sponsorship of the Daytona Beach
   AA group in Florida.

   According to Rich's son, their family went
   to the Unitarian church while he was growing
   up. So it is clear that, while Rich may have
   come to a strong and deeply committed belief
   in God's power and existence, that he still
   did not feel comfortable with the idea of
   the divinity of Christ and the literal
   infallibility of the Bible, and that sort of
   thing, and felt far more comfortable in an
   extremely liberal church like the Unitarian
   church.

   The kind of belief in God which Rich developed
   drew heavily on the ideas of the New England
   Transcendentalists (Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry
   David Thoreau, and so on), New England
   Unitarianism, and nineteenth-century German
   idealist philosophy (where a large number
   of the faculty at Williams College, where
   he did his college degree, had done at least
   part of their graduate study in Germany).
   And according to Rich's son, Rich continued
   to read books on philosophy avidly all his
   life.

   According to Rich's son, their family spent
   the warmer months at a beachfront house in
   Cohasset, Massachusetts, not far from Boston,
   and the cold months in a house on the beach
   in Daytona Beach. The son says that Rich
   did not like cold weather, and was frequently
   seen wearing sweaters and heavy clothes when
   everyone else was in shirt sleeves, and used
   to ask plaintively quite early in the Fall,
   "Do we HAVE to wait until after Thanksgiving
   to go down to Florida?"

   Rich died on March 25, 1965, at the age of 72,
   with 22 years of sobriety. His son and daughter
   told me that he went out and spent the day on
   the beach, talking with his friends and enjoying
   himself -- his whole time was being spent in
   AA work of one kind or another by that point
   in his life -- came back home and went to bed,
   and when they tried to wake him the next
   morning, they discovered that he had passed
   away peacefully in his sleep.

   His prayer had been answered (paragraph 26
   http://hindsfoot.org/rwvt.html )

   "Above all, my faith in the Great Intelligence
   behind the universe, which can give me all
   the strength I need to face whatever life has
   to offer, is the foundation of my present
   life. When I die, my body will return to dust.
   Heaven is not any particular place in the sky,
   but my intelligence or soul, if it is in the
   proper condition, will return to the Great
   Intelligence behind the universe and will
   blend with that Great Intelligence and be at
   home again whence it came. My problem, in
   what is left of my life, is to keep my mind
   or intelligence in the proper condition --
   by living with honesty, purity, unselfishness,
   love, and service -- so that when my time
   comes to go, my passing to a greater sphere
   of mind will be gentle and easy."

   - - - -

   SOURCES:

   Text of the 1933 Humanist Manifesto at:

   http://www.infidels.org/library/modern/edwin_wilson/manifesto/ch13.html

   Information about Joseph Walker and the manifesto at:

   http://www.infidels.org/library/modern/edwin_wilson/manifesto/ch6.html

   Richmond Walker chronology:

   http://hindsfoot.org/rwchrn.html

   Richmond Walker prayer:

   http://hindsfoot.org/rwvt.html





[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

At 00:24 11/16/2007 , Cherie wrote:


>When did Dr. Silkworths name first get printed
>in the Big Book?
>
>I've searched the archives and can't seem to
>find the answer to this question.
>
>I have a 1st Edition 5th Printing,borrowed
>from my sponsor, where Dr. Silkworth's name
>is not printed, and wonder what printing/
>edition his name began being printed in?

The First Printing of the Second Edition on both pages xxiv and xxx.

Tommy H in Baton Rouge

Richmond Walker, the second most-published
AA author (who wrote Twenty-Four Hours a Day)
couldn't get sober until the death (in 1942)
of his father, Joseph Walker, a very well
known American atheist.

Even then, Rich said in the lead he gave in
Rutland, Vermont, on January 1, 1958,
that when he fell down on his knees and
prayed, he found himself saying, "God, if
there is a God," help me get sober. He still
wasn't sure, in other words, that his
father might not have been right in claiming
that God could not possibly exist.

But "seeing is believing," as Rich said,
and once he called upon God wholeheartedly,
and began going to AA meetings in Boston,
he was able to get sober and stay sober.
His continued sobriety was the proof of
God's reality and power.

One of the most notorious atheistic documents
of the 1930's was the Humanist Manifesto
published in the May/June 1933 issue of The
New Humanist (VI:3:1-5).

One of the thirty-four well known figures who
signed this manifesto was Joseph Walker, who
a year earlier had published a book entitled
"Humanism As a Way of Life."

This Joseph Walker was the father of Richmond
Walker, as I mentioned, the second most
published AA author, who got sober in Boston
in May 1942 -- Rich made the decision to
attend AA and get sobered up while he was
at his father Joseph's funeral.

By 1948, Rich had come to a rich and deep
understanding of God, and published the
meditational book "Twenty-Four Hours a Day"
under the sponsorship of the Daytona Beach
AA group in Florida.

According to Rich's son, their family went
to the Unitarian church while he was growing
up. So it is clear that, while Rich may have
come to a strong and deeply committed belief
in God's power and existence, that he still
did not feel comfortable with the idea of
the divinity of Christ and the literal
infallibility of the Bible, and that sort of
thing, and felt far more comfortable in an
extremely liberal church like the Unitarian
church.

The kind of belief in God which Rich developed
drew heavily on the ideas of the New England
Transcendentalists (Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry
David Thoreau, and so on), New England
Unitarianism, and nineteenth-century German
idealist philosophy (where a large number
of the faculty at Williams College, where
he did his college degree, had done at least
part of their graduate study in Germany).
And according to Rich's son, Rich continued
to read books on philosophy avidly all his
life.

According to Rich's son, their family spent
the warmer months at a beachfront house in
Cohasset, Massachusetts, not far from Boston,
and the cold months in a house on the beach
in Daytona Beach. The son says that Rich
did not like cold weather, and was frequently
seen wearing sweaters and heavy clothes when
everyone else was in shirt sleeves, and used
to ask plaintively quite early in the Fall,
"Do we HAVE to wait until after Thanksgiving
to go down to Florida?"

Rich died on March 25, 1965, at the age of 72,
with 22 years of sobriety. His son and daughter
told me that he went out and spent the day on
the beach, talking with his friends and enjoying
himself -- his whole time was being spent in
AA work of one kind or another by that point
in his life -- came back home and went to bed,
and when they tried to wake him the next
morning, they discovered that he had passed
away peacefully in his sleep.

His prayer had been answered (paragraph 26
http://hindsfoot.org/rwvt.html )

"Above all, my faith in the Great Intelligence
behind the universe, which can give me all
the strength I need to face whatever life has
to offer, is the foundation of my present
life. When I die, my body will return to dust.
Heaven is not any particular place in the sky,
but my intelligence or soul, if it is in the
proper condition, will return to the Great
Intelligence behind the universe and will
blend with that Great Intelligence and be at
home again whence it came. My problem, in
what is left of my life, is to keep my mind
or intelligence in the proper condition --
by living with honesty, purity, unselfishness,
love, and service -- so that when my time
comes to go, my passing to a greater sphere
of mind will be gentle and easy."

- - - -

SOURCES:

Text of the 1933 Humanist Manifesto at:

http://www.infidels.org/library/modern/edwin_wilson/manifesto/ch13.html

Information about Joseph Walker and the manifesto at:

http://www.infidels.org/library/modern/edwin_wilson/manifesto/ch6.html

Richmond Walker chronology:

http://hindsfoot.org/rwchrn.html

Richmond Walker prayer:

http://hindsfoot.org/rwvt.html

In Jim Burwell's copy of the Original Manu-
script, he has handwritten a list of people
who contributed to the writing of the Big
Book.

The only "Charlie" to appear on that list of
49 people is "Chas. Simons" who is listed as
belonging to the Akron Group and who was one
of the 38 people on that list who drank again
- at least once.

Chas. Simons is also listed by Jim as the
author of the first edition Big Book story:
"Riding the Rods."

Old Bill

- - - -

From the moderator, for more on this figure,
see:

Charlie Simonson (Simondsord? Simpson?),
author of "Riding the Rods"

http://www.a-1associates.com/aa/Authors.htm
http://www.a-1associates.com/aa/Authors.htm#Riding%20the%20Rods

Big Book page 6: "An all night place supplied
me with a dozen glasses of ale .... Then a
mental fog settled down. Gin would fix that.
So two bottles, and -- oblivion."

The question raised by one of our members is
whether anyone in this web group can enlarge
on what Bill meant by a "mental fog." Does
anyone have a medical definition of this
meaning ?

Many Thanks

Carl P

I found a site that has some old Grapevine
articles which had also posted the early
membership requirements of the Little Rock
group in Arkansas. It was pretty wild to me,
"slip squads" and "prospect squad."  And new
men had to take two weeks from work to
perform what ever tasks their sponsors
dictated.

http://www.silkworth.net/pdfhistory/Little-Rock-Plan-Gives-Prospects-Sep-1947.pd\
f

My question is where could I find more of these
early "membership rules" that I could read?

Thank you,
Terry W
terrylwalton@...
(terrylwalton at yahoo.com)

A Doctor Howard S. does appear in the book
"Dr Bob and the Good Old-Timers" on page 129.
He is described as a general practitioner at
Cuyahoga Falls (which is where Earl T. was
from). It describes him as an alcoholic who
had been cured by Dr. Bob and his friends.

However, he does not appear in any of the
early membership lists that I have seen
circulating. A quick check of the Cuyahoga
Falls directory for this period might reveal
his identity.

Tom C.
Evanston, IL

- - - -

Message 4554 from Diz Titcher
diz49@... (diz49 at earthlink.net)
diz49@... (diz49 at embarqmail.com)

Has anyone ever identified Howard, the ex
Doctor on pp. 260-261, BB 4th edition?
Has anyone ever identified Howard, the ex
Doctor on pp. 260-261, BB 4th edition?

The question can up in a BB study and I do
not know.

Diz Titcher
diz49@...
(diz49 at embarqmail.com)

- - - -

From the moderator:

This is pp. 289-290 in the 3rd edit., for
those who arre still using that.

Howard's name appears in the story "He Sold
Himself Short."

Nancy Olson's bio gives us a lot about Earl
Treat (whose story this is) but doesn't
identify this particular figure:

http://silkworth.net/aabiography/earltreat.html

Can anyone tell me the Box 4-5-9 article on
the San Diego 1995 Convention, and accepting
perks from the city of San Diego?

We have a situation where we are starting a
convention and the city has offered us a 50%
discount as a 501c3.  This is offered to any
501c3.

Half the committee says we can't take it and
the other half says we can.

One member says the Box 4-5-9 article mentioned
above answers these questions.

Also if you know of any other AA writings
concerning AA convention financing, please
refer me to them.

Michael S. Oates

I remember in the early 70's knowing an AA who
frequently brought newcomers to the meeting
house at 26th and Broadway in Santa Monica.
I'd see Chuck drive in the parking lot and he
and the newcomer would walk into the building.

On this  occasion Chuck helped a very old man
with a beard and a funny looking cane out of
his car and up the steps. I being fairly new
to AA instantly judged the  situation. I
thought to myself, 'Oh Chuck, he's too old to
get sober.'

The old guy was helped to a seat and to my
surprise became the main speaker that day.
He told of getting sober in the Oxford group
a year before Bill W and joining AA in time
to help write part of Chapter Three.

A few years later when I became interested
in AA history I looked all through AA Comes
of Age for a name "Charlie" who would have
matched the gentleman's story but found
nothing. I've asked over the years several
history buffs including Clancy I. if they
knew who he was.

The now deceased Chuck and his wife Lee Cohen
were solid AA's, both in their early 60's,
each sober approx 10 yrs, who would not fall
for a scam so my memory stirs questions still.
The only part of Chuck's story I remember was
during his drinking days he was involved on
the east coast with what he called "The
Jewish Mafia"

Do any of you know of a "Charlie" who got
sober in the Oxford Group a year before Bill
W. and Dr. Bob got sober, who later became
an AA member?

Thanks,
JT

When did Dr. Silkworths name first get printed
in the Big Book?

I've searched the archives and can't seem to
find the answer to this question.

I have a 1st Edition 5th Printing,borrowed
from my sponsor, where Dr. Silkworth's name
is not printed, and wonder what printing/
edition his name began being printed in?

thanks
Cherie'
Mt. Clemens MI

I can only share the "when" of the use of the
word "Alano" here in regards to the formation
of the not-for-profit corporation that founded
The Alano Society of Minneapolis, Inc.
(documented). That was on March 28, 1942 when
seven members of A.A. signed the document that
led to the purchase of the property at
2218-1st Ave S in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
It opened on May 17, 1942 and is still and
has been continuously open since that date,
at that location. The first 3 members got
their sobriety on April 13, 1940, November 11,
1940 and December 2, 1940. There were several
rented halls and member's homes used for
meetings by the original members of the
Minneapolis Group prior to the purchase and
usage of the old John Washburn mansion.

There is no reason to believe that the word
was used here first, but you did request
something that could be substantiated. We
hear two pronounciations here: ALano and
Alano. Speculation is that it was simply
an adaptation of the word alcohol with the
negative "no" ending.

Re: Toni S. wrote:
Thu Nov 15, 2007 11:25 am (PST)

I've been looking for the origins of the
term, "Alano", as is used to describe or
name the clubhouses for individuals of 12
step fellowships to gather.

Any background on this, preferably that can
be substantiated, is very much appreciated.

Toni S.
California

Dear Toni,

I have contributed to the book "Journey to
Recovery, a Fifty Year History of Al-Anon
and Alateen in Northern California",  I found
this on page 13.

"On November 17, 1951, at a meeting in New
York,  Lois W., Ann B. [co-founders of Al-Anon
Family Groups] and other volunteers [met]....
It was at this meeting that the name, Al-Anon
Family Groups, was chosen ..." and "These
minutes mention two clubhouses in New York.
One of them is called the Alanon Club."

Origin of the name Al-Anon is also described.
[When asked about the (-) in Al-Anon,] "A
later publication states that the "-" appears
to avoid confusion with these clubs."  This
later publication is the November 1987
Issue of the monthly magazine, Forum,
published by Al-Anon Family Group Headquarters,
Inc.

In the early 1990s, I heard that an Alanon
club in Austin TX had received a letter from
Bill W., co-founder of AA, requesting that
"Alanon clubs change their name to Alano,
to avoid confusion with the new Al-Anon
Family Groups." I have not seen that letter
and don't know where I might find it.

Today I did a google search for "alanon club"
and found a registry of Alano clubs at
http://www.grrr.net/alano.html#tx
On this list, there is only one Alanon Club,
in Glendale CA.

If anyone has a copy of the letter, or knows
where it may be found, please let me know.

Sincerely,

Art Boudreault
San Jose, CA
artb@...
(artb at netwiz.net)
Past Al-Anon Delegate

The story I have heard and sometimes repeated
is that it came about after our sister fellow-
ship, Al-Anon, started up.

Some Clubs prior to that had called themselves
"Alanon Clubs".

About the time Al-Anon was starting they were
wanting to call themselves "AA Family Groups".
Our central office in NY asked them not to
include AA in their name to avoid problems
with implied affiliation. So they sent a
questionnaire out to all their groups in May
1951 and by March of 1952 had enough feedback
to settle on the name Al-Anon, which Lois W,
states is simply a derivative of Alcoholics
Anonymous, combining the first syllables
of each word ["Lois Remembers" pgs 174, 176].

Looking at the dates below, it seems that the
transition to Alano may have come even earlier,
though Lois' explanation of the origin of
the words probably still apply.

"Alano/Alanon" clubs mentioned in the
old Grapevines:

VOL. I, NO. 6, NOV., 1944
JERSEYITES BUY BIG SOCIABLE CLUBHOUSE

To the A.A.s of North Jersey goes the honor of
being the original contributors to one phase
of A.A. history, geographically speaking.
They are the first of the "Along the Metro-
politan Circuit" groups to buy a clubhouse of
their own.

Members of a dozen North Jersey groups,
forming a company called Alanon Association
(Joe B. is their counsel), participated in
the deal that ended, in October, in the
purchase of the three-story brick building
at 8th Ave. and North 7th St., Newark, N. J.,
known as the Roseville Athletic Association.

The purchase price of 22,000.00 includes
furniture and equipment, which in turn includes
such things as pool and billiard tables and
bowling alleys. The transaction involved a
first mortgage of 15,000.00 with a non-alcoholic
A.A. supporter, the remainder (a large portion
of which has already been subscribed) to be
pledged by individual A.A.s. Certificates of
indebtedness are to be issued to all contrib-
utors, bearing interest, and redeemable in
five to ten years. The plan is, however, to
clear off all indebtedness as quickly as
possible, including the mortgage. (Up to
the time of purchase the building had sustained
itself financially with revenues from bowling,
pool, billiards, and tobacco.) The dues system
will be voluntary weekly contributions — the
amounts kept a strictly confidential matter —
with 1.00 as tops.

Participation of the A.A. men and women in
Alanon, Inc., is entirely as individuals. There
were no group commitments, and care was taken
to avoid involving Alcoholics Anonymous in
any way. The Board of Trustees of the corpora-
tion are: Chairman, Tom M.; Secretary, Jim G.;
Treasurer, Herman G.; Recording Secretary
(handling dues), Hal R.; Stuart S., Dr. Arthur
S., Pete O'T., Oscar 0., Helen D., Bea W.,
Ed M., and Leo S.

The Newark Group, who have been holding their
meetings at the Roseville A.A. for three years,
will continue to do so. Maintained for 58
years as a conservative gentleman's club, there
has never been a bar in the club. However,
food facilities, which also do not exist at
present, will be installed pronto.

The big building is located one block from the
Roseville Avenue station of the Lackawanna R.R.,
about 20 minutes from New York. It is expected
that the clubhouse will develop into a clinical
center for new people, and a social haven for
all A.A. men and women, irrespective of their
group membership.

-------------------------------

VOL. II, NO. 5, OCTOBER, 1945
in an article titled:
CHICAGO'S NEIGHBORHOOD GROUPS
there is a subsection:

The Alano Club

Another activity is the Alano Club on the sixth
floor at 189 West Madison Street. This project
is sponsored and supported by members of the
metropolitan group, administering it separate
from the central office but entirely in keeping
with A. A. principles and practices. Open house
with coffee and cake at the Club follows each
Tuesday night meeting. There are regular A. A.
meetings at the Club at I P. M. Wednesday and
at 8: 30 P. M. Friday.

-------------------------------

VOL. III, NO. 2, JULY, 1946
from regular column:
A. A.'s Country-Wide News Circuit

The Newark Group has moved into its new meeting
quarters at 66 North 7th Street, about one
block from the Alanon Clubhouse. More than
100 people were at the first meeting in their
new home. Another group, known as the North
Newark A.A., is growing to such an extent that
they are now forming a second one. Other new
groups in this vicinity are the Vailsburg and
Clinton Hill.

also:
In "Easy Does It." its second annual variety
show, the East Orange, N. J., Group went to
town again this year, displaying lots of talent
and ingenuity. The show was produced and
directed by the group, with scenery painted
by the members. Stage crew, electricians,
tickettakers and ushers, all were recruited
from the local A.A.s. And the cast of 36
"Easy-doers" came from the group. The music
was furnished by the Alanon orchestra from
Newark. This entirely A.A. production brought
an audience of 600 A.A.s and friends from
nearby communities. Some of the rollicking
musical numbers and satirical skits were "The
March of Crime," "You Made Him What He Is
Today," "Boys Will Be Girls," and "Don't
Point."

also:
The newly organized Alano Club in Milwaukee,
which was incorporated under the state laws
of Wisconsin, is holding a series of Sunday
evening buffet suppers. The Milwaukee A.A.s
invite out-of-town members to their clubrooms
in the Metropolitan Block, 3rd and State
Streets.

-------------------------------

VOL. III. NO. 6, NOVEMBER, 1946,
from regular column:
A. A.'s Country-Wide News Circuit

And Housing, Too. Within five months from the
time the first five prospects met, the Alano
Club Inc., of Spokane, Wash., had purchased
and moved into a beautiful clubhouse with
grounds adequate to build an adjoining
one-story auditorium which is planned for the
near future. Valued at $18,000 and completely
furnished through the work of the Ladies Home
committee and fellow members, the club house
is described as "sanctuary and bee-hive
combined." Squad meetings (classes for
beginners) and a general meeting on Saturday
keep up the activities every night in the week.
Since the first meeting on June 21, 1945, the
club has grown to more than 100 members and
while growing "fast and strong" has had the
finest cooperation of civic clubs, newspapers,
judges, doctors and hospitals.

-------------------------------

VOL. III. NO. 7, DECEMBER, 1946,
from regular column:
A. A.'s Country-Wide News Circuit

The Alano Society of Minneapolis, Minn, gave
double significance by combining it with the
Founders' Day Banquet to be held each year.
The sixth anniversary dinner was held at the
Nicollet hotel on November 16. Columbus, 0.,
Groups gathered on a Sunday afternoon last
month in the grand ballroom of the Neil house
where 750 A.A.s and guests celebrated the fifth
anniversary. A Columbus member gave a short
history of the founding and growth and then
introduced a Cleveland doctor who was the
principal speaker. Following the meeting there
was a social hour and banquet. Guests included
invited members of the clergy, medical
profession, judiciary, social workers, welfare
workers and public health representatives.

The South Bend, Ind., Tribune devoted more
than a column and a half to an account of how
more than 200 from 10 cities gathered there
and "gave evidence of the miracle which had
been performed." This dinner, the third
anniversary, drew representatives from South
Bend, Mishawaka, Elkhart, Laporte, Warsaw,
Indianapolis and Ft. Wayne, Ind., Benton
Harbor and Kalamazoo, Mich., and Chicago.
The speaker said, "The secret of A.A. is the
technique of surrender. We surrendered
ourselves to victory." The newspaper concluded
the account by listing the postoffice boxes
of the groups for those desiring information.

also:
Recently 25 Omaha A.A.s drove to Lincoln to
meet with a new group. Just to keep things
bubbling more than champagne at the Alano
club, Omaha, an experiment is being made with
a set of recordings, 18 sides, which explain
basic principles to prospects seeking informa-
tion during the day when no member is present.
The data recorded is being mimeographed in
pamphlet form, pocket size, for 12th Step
purposes.

-------------------------------

VOL. III, NO. 10. MARCH, 1947.
from regular column:
A. A.'s Country-Wide News Circuit

Club Ownership Changes. — Three years after the
San Francisco, Cal., Fellowship opened its
first clubhouse, it turned over its second
club at 143 Bush Street, with all physical
assets, to the newly incorporated Alano Club,
thus completing separation of the administra-
tions of the Fellowship and the Club.
Requirement for the Club membership is
voting membership in the Fellowship. Guest
memberships will be extended to new A.A.s,
visiting A.A.s and relatives of members.
The first club was outgrown in a year, after
beginning with 35 at a meeting in February
1944. The second club has a seating capacity
of about 250 and served as central meeting
spot until nine months ago when it was
necessary to rent an outside hall. The A.A.
office will remain at the Club for the time
being. San Francisco membership is estimated
between 400 and 500 with ten weekly meetings.

-------------------------------

VOL.III.NO.11, APRIL, 1947.
from article:
A. A. Clubs - - - Are They With Us to Stay?

Clubs Separate Business
This tangle slowly commenced to unravel, as
we began to get the idea that clubs ought
to be strictly the business of those individuals
who specially want clubs, and who are willing
to pay for them. We began to see that club
management is a pure business proposition
which ought to be separately incorporated
under another name such, for example, as
"Alanon"; that the "directors" of a club
corporation ought to look after club business
only; that an A.A. group, as such, should
never get into active management of a business
project. Hectic experience has since taught
us that if an A.A. rotating committee tries
to boss the club corporation or if the
corporation tries to run the A.A. affairs
of those groups who may meet at the club there
is difficulty at once. The only way we have
found to cure this is to separate the material
from the spiritual. If an A.A. group wishes
to use a given club let them pay rent or split
the meeting take with the club management. To
a small group opening its first clubroom this
procedure may seem silly because, for the
moment, the group members will also be club
members. Nevertheless separation by early
incorporation is recommended because it will
save much confusion later on as other groups
start forming in the area.

-------------------------------

VOL.III.NO.11, APRIL, 1947.
from regular column:
A. A.'s Country-Wide News Circuit

Clubs Open. —The Longview, Wash., Club has
opened new quarters in The Alano Club, 215
Empire Building, Hudson and Commerce Streets.
Regular meetings are each Wednesday and
Saturday at 7:30 with visitors invited. The
Longview Group is also putting out a card
bearing the P.O. Box number 1028, and phone,
3075-J, with the admonition "Let us help
you solve that drinking problem" and a four
page leaflet with questions to determine
whether the reader is an alcoholic and A.A.
information. Clearwater, Fla., members
have what our correspondent describes as
"ideal" quarters for the group of 25, the
former headquarters of the Garden Club with
a palm tree which came to grief, and blew
over, arching the doorway. The palm, a real
alcoholic, has risen again and put out
shoots. In spite of a small membership the
Butte, Mont., Group found a good place
with a kitchen adequate to prepare much
coffee. A good many members are reported
familiar with the surroundings, (formerly
a speakeasy) but redecorated considerably,
from new wall paper out. The ambition is
to have the club open every night and that
goal is being approached. About 50 volunteers
showed up in Des Moines, Iowa, to help
put the arch through the wall to take on
600 square feet of additional space for the
club there and it was reported as a great
cooperative effort. One member brought a
crew of five with three trucks and air and
hand hammers.

-------------------------------

VOL. IV, NO. 1, JUNE, 1947.
from regular column:
A. A.'s Country-Wide News Circuit

Out of the Red (Both Ways)—Alanon Association,
Inc., club of Newark, N.J., A.A.s, has
announced that in six months it has changed
a deficit of nearly $5,000 into a healthy
surplus through a series of various activities
and prompt dues paying. Alanon now has
a yearly functioning cost of $50,000 for
a tremendous list of activities. Copies of
The Alanon News list community sings, parlor
nights, women's card parties, booster
club meetings, dances, game room entertainment
and good restaurant facilities, in
addition to monthly Inter-Group mass
meetings and other major events in the
auditorium. Plans for the future are equally
ambitious with modernizing the wiring
and light, providing adequate fire exits
and possible changes in the restaurant
operation are under consideration. Alanon
has had a swift, mushroom growth from 70
members who bought the club two and a half
years ago to nearly 400 who own it today.
A steadily growing number use it daily and
nightly.

also:
More and Better Clubs—Formal opening of
new clubrooms last month was held by Mankato,
Minn., A.A.s, with speakers from Colfax, Wis.,
and Minneapolis. A local member gave a
brief history and a letter from Bill W. was
read. According to the president of the
Alano society there, the group was two years
old early this spring and has grown from
two men, who started out in July, 1944, and
by March, 1945, had drawn in five others.
First meeting in homes, a local hotel room
was used later and served until March,
1946, when two rooms were leased in a downtown
building. This year 2,600 square feet
of space in a new building were leased
for four and a half years. The 46 regular
members spent about $4,000 in fixing up
the quarters. Mankato has four women members,
one of whom is the oldest in sobriety.
Quarters for the club in Denver, Colo., have
been enlarged substantially during the past
six months and the membership is still
growing. In Omaha, Nebr., a drive for the
building fund closed last month. About
$2500 was put into the clubroom, including;
a kitchen with modern, complete equipment
for social activities. Redecoration,
remodeling, lighting and modern furniture
were included in improvements. The recreation
room in the basement is not complete, but
the final drive is expected to take care of
this.

-------------------------------

VOL. IV, NO. 2, JULY, 1947
from regular column:
A.A.'s Country-Wide News Circuit

Mortgage Burned—The board of trustees of
Alanon Association, Inc., club unit for
Newark, N. J., A.A.s, paid off in full the
second mortgage on the clubhouse amounting
to $2,550 and the occasion was celebrated
by a "mortgage burning" and big party.

-------------------------------

VOL. IV, NO. 4, SEPTEMBER, 1947.
from regular column:
A.A.'s Country-Wide News Circuit

Winonans Advertise, Too — The A.A. Group in
Winona, Minn., runs a classified ad daily
in the Republican-Herald, the local newspaper,
changing the wording every six or
eight weeks. The current ad has read: "Is
drinking a problem that is affecting you
domestically, socially, economically, and
physically? Possibly we can help you. Write
Alcoholics Anonymous, P.O. Box 122. No
treatment, confidential, no dues." Twenty
members from Winona were among 300 who
attended the first anniversary dinner of the
Alano society of Rochester (Minn.) A.A.
in July.

also:
Milwaukee Women Organize—A women's group
has been formed by A.A. in Milwaukee, with
meetings every other Wednesday in the Alano
Club at 1012 North 3rd Street. The Alano
Club is now 16 months old, and occupies a
suite of six rooms in downtown Milwaukee.

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VOL. IV, NO. 5, OCTOBER, 1947.
from regular column:
A.A.'s Country-Wide News Circuit

News from Newark—Judging from the variety
of activities, past and planned, the
publication of the Alanon Association
of Newark, N. J., is well named The News.
Included in the September issue are
announcement of a bowling season, report
of a Monte Carlo Night, a venture in sound
moving pictures, a corn cob and hot dog
party, a series of games, a fall dance,
a "Monster Ball," rehearsals for the second
annual "Show Boat," a contemporary art
exhibit and tea as well as a report of the
regular monthly inter-group meeting and
announcement of the first annual New Jersey
Inter-Group banquet to be held at the
Terrace Ball Room October 16.

also, short announcement:
Omaha Holds Festival
Two big days of a fall festival were staged
by Omaha, Nebr. A.A. Groups Sept. 27 and
28, with programs both Saturday and Sunday.
Registrations were made for hotel or
residence reservations, sightseeing tours
and church services. There was a dinner and
floor show, with no speeches, at the Elks
club. Sunday began with a breakfast at the
Alano club and the sightseeing tours
included a visit to Boys' Town. An A.A.
meeting was held Sunday afternoon with
speakers from North Platte, Fremont and
Grand Island, Nebraska, and Council
Bluffs, Ia.

-------------------------------

Vol. IV, NO. 6, NOVEMBER, 1947.
from article:
Incorporations: Their Uses and Misuses
By Bill

3. Q. But how about Clubs? Being so close
to A.A., shouldn't they be an exception;
just why shouldn't they bear the A.A. name
and be managed by the Group itself?

A. We used to think they should. When a Group
is small and merely hires a room, it is
quite natural to call the place an "A.A,
Clubroom." Conversationally, most clubs are
still called "A.A. Clubs." But when an area
contains many A.A.s, and perhaps several
Groups, not all the A.A. members w i l l
care for Clubs. Hence the business
management of the club (or clubs) in the
area must become the function of those who
individually contribute to their support
and the corporate title should omit "A.A."
The contributors ought to elect the
business management. Then other A.A.s
can "take the club or leave it alone." Club
Corporations often adopt a related title,
such as "Alano" or "Alkanon." But more
remote ventures, such as farms or drying-out
places operated by individuals A.A.s, ought
not use these "related" titles.

-------------------------------

Vol. IV, NO. 6, NOVEMBER, 1947.
from regular column:
A.A.'s Country-Wide News Circuit

Second Fall Festival -Inaugurated as an
annual affair last year to regenerate
enthusiasm for the winter season and
rededicate combined efforts to A.A. work and
study, the second annual Omaha, Nebr.,
groups' Fall Festival was attended by more
than 200 members, many with their wives
and families. Saturday evening at the Elks
club they attended a banquet with no speeches,
but with a program featuring an array
of professional talent which starred
"Miss Omaha," Madalyn King, whose fast tap
dancing won the talent award in the Atlantic
City Miss America Beauty Pageant. Song
leaders from two Iowa groups competed in
leading the community sing with a Council
Bluffs member winning over one from Des
Moines, Ia., both putting on excellent shows.
A free Bingo game with several hundred
dollars worth of prizes was followed by
dancing, cards and impromptu entertainment.
Sunday morning members and guests had
breakfast at the Alano club, then visited
Father Flanagan's Boys Town and other
places in Omaha. The meeting of the day
was at the Elks club with Omaha's oldest
member as chairman and members in attendance
from Iowa, South Dakota, Missouri, Illinois,
Colorado and Nebraska. The principal address
was delivered by Roy M. of Chicago. The
open house session at the club ran into
morning hours.

-------------------------------

Vol. IV, NO. 10, MARCH, 1948.
from regular column:
A.A.'s Country-Wide News Circuit

Newark Has Full Calendar—The latest issue
of the Newark, N J., Alanon News (which
incidentally was the first anniversary
issue) listed for February a card party on
the 7th; a Valentine party and dance with a
Sweetheart contest on the 14th; a night of
games the 21st, and a Leap Year dance with
a male popularity contest on the 28th. A
dance and chowder party on January 31 was
the last of that month's many events. The
Alanon Club's television programs draw good
attendance, for the boxing bouts on Mondays,
Tuesdays and Fridays, and other programs on
Wednesdays and Thursdays. The latest addition
to the extensive entertainment facilities
is a grand piano, a gift to the club.

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Vol. V, NO. 1, JUNE, 1948.
from regular column:
News Circuit of A. A. Groups From All
Parts of the World

Open New Club—Beginning with one member and
one dollar in December, 1947, the Alano
Club, San Diego, Calif., now boasts more
than 100 members.

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Vol. V, NO. 2, JULY, 1948.
from regular column:
News Circuit of A. A. Groups From All
Parts of the World

Indianapolis A.A.s Open Club—-A three story
brick building, used during the war as
the USO Center, is now the new Alano Club
of Indianapolis. The clubhouse is complete
with a large room for dancing, lounges and
coffee and sandwich bar, equipped with a
brass rail so that the members will feel
at home. The opening was attended by
approximately 500 members and friends.
The clubrooms are open at all times and
groups from all parts of the city hold
meetings there.

-------------------------------

Vol. V, NO. 3, AUG., 1948.
from regular column:
News Circuit of A. A. Groups From
All Parts of the World

Banquet Marks Anniversary — The Alano Club,
Spokane, Wash., recently observed the
third anniversary of its founding with
a banquet and open house. From the original
four members the group has grown to nearly
300 and is steadily gaining.