~~~~Hey there ... Just joined the group.
Found you in my search for a simple list of
all the ICYPAAs, their years, cities and
themes. I'm the chair of the Chicago ICYPAA
bid committee for this year, and would like
to peruse this info.  Does anyone have any
idea where I can locate such a list??

Look forward to seeing you in Oklahoma!

Jocelyn Geboy
Chair, Chicago ICYPAA Bid Committee

- - - -

From the moderator: for a general historical
account (although this doesn't give you your
detailed list) you might look at

http://www.barefootsworld.net/aaspecialgroups.html

if you haven't already done so.

- - - -

--- In AAHistoryLovers@yahoogroups.com, "dijmo" <dijmo@...> wrote:
>
> The 50th ICYPAA is being held July 3-6, 2008
> in Oklahoma City: http://www.50thicypaa.org
>
> We have been working with the program commit-
> tee to get a slot on the program for a panel
> meeting on Saturday afternoon. The likely
> title for this panel is "Historical Perspective
> on the ICYPAA conference" (from people that
> hosted ICYPAA over the decades).
>
> We would like to have three prearranged
> panelists, one that was involved in hosting
> an ICYPAA during the 60's, one that was
> involved in hosting an ICYPAA during the
> 70's and one from the 80's.
>
> After each of these folks have shared a little
> bit about what it was like and what it meant
> for their sobriety, we will open it up for
> sharing from the floor.
>
> For those of you who may know of Bill D., he
> has agreed to be the Saturday night speaker.
> Bill was involved in organizing the first
> ICYPAA and the main speaker at the second!
> If that's not enough, he first came to AA at
> age 19, in New York and attended meetings with
> Bill W. and many other early AAs.
>
> Lizzie Schrock
> Member 34th ICYPAA Host Committee
> lizzieschrock@...
> 530/906/9854
>
> or
>
> Melanie Elliott
> Member 34th ICYPAA Host Committee
> melhermann@...
> 323/356/0432
>

I don't see anything to add to your answer
Tommy. It's fairly common to hear members say
that the man on the bed represents Bill,
Dr Bob and Bill D.

What I do is to point out that: (1) the man on
the bed is wearing trousers, (2) there is a
carpet under the bed, (3) there is a bottle of
booze on the dresser and (4) the headboard
and footboard of the bed are brass. These
would not be found in a room in Akron City
Hospital in June 1935. Also, the man in the
foreground is holding a book - if the artist
intended it to be the Big Book, then that
wasn't written until 4 years later in 1939.

And then people still go on saying it's Bill,
Dr Bob and Bill D.

Cheers
Arthur

I would be interested to know when and how
Bill Dotson's name became associated with
the painting?

It was not intended to represent him when it
was painted in 1955 by Robert M, a volunteer
illustrator for the Grapevine and appeared in
the December issue of that year titled "Came
to Believe."  The setting is obviously not
in a hospital.  The man on the bed is wearing
trousers and an undershirt.  There is a bottle
of booze on the chest of drawers.  The head
and foot of the bed are brass, not a hospital
bed.  If the book one of the men has is
supposed to be a Big Book, it wasn't published
until almost four years later.  One wonders
what book Bill and Dr. Bob would have used.

It is my understanding that the painting was
presented to Bill W by the artist in May of
1956, the following year.  It was very popular
and the Grapevine provided reproductions of it.

When the book Came to Believe was published
in 1973, the name of the painting was changed
to The Man on the Bed to avoid confusion.

It appears at some point people started
believing the painting represented Bill Dotson
in Akron City Hospital in 1935.  I wonder if
there is any hard evidence when that happened?

Tommy H

- - - -

Original message: Trysh Travis wrote

>I have become interested in the various
>representations of "the man in the bed," and
>am eager to add to the "gallery" I am making
>up.  I have collected the photos from the
>original Jack Alexander article in the
>Saturday Evening Post, as well as the
>painting [?] on Barefoot Bill's website
>
>http://www.barefootsworld.net/aabilld-aa3.html
>
>and the stained glass window at the Akron
>Archives
>
>http://www.akronaa.org/Archives/man_on_the_bed.html
>
>I am curious to know whether people on this
>list know of other visual representations of
>the man in the bed that I might add to my
>archive.  They don't have to be famous like
>these are!

An added tragedy for Sue and Ernie occurred
a few years after their divorce when their
daughter Bonna committed suicide after taking
the life of her 6-year-old daughter Sandy on
June 11, 1969.  Ernie died 2 years later to
the day.  Also very tragic, Smitty and Betty
had a son who committed suicide.

Chris

- - - -

Original message:

Good Morning/Afternoon all!

Does anyone know who the person is that is
referenced in the BB as the fourth member?

Thanks

- - - -

From the moderator:

I am assuming that you are referring to the
"devil-may-care young fellow" who appears
on page 158 in the Big Book (3rd/4th edit.).

The "devil-may-care young fellow" was 30-
year-old Ernie Galbraith of Akron, a young
man with problems [who must be distinguished
from the other Ernie G. in the early Ohio AA
group, who was Ernie Gerig of Toledo, one of
the truly great AA good old timers.]

Ernie Galbraith, who had trouble with drinking
for the rest of his life, nevertheless had
his story, "The Seven Month Slip," in the
first edition of the Big Book. In 1941 Dr.
Bob's daughter Sue married Ernie Galbraith
but they were later divorced.

I've perused As Bill Sees Its for years but
only recently noticed that many of the quotes
from both the Big Book and Twelve Steps and
Twelve Traditions are actually NOT quotes,
but paraphrases.

This disturbs me for a number of reasons,
and since I noticed it I've left ASBI on
the shelf.

Does anyone know a) who decided to paraphrase
the source material, b) whether the "letters"
and Grapevine article snippets are also
paraphrased?

Thanks in advance.

George

I have become interested in the various
representations of "the man in the bed," and
am eager to add to the "gallery" I am making
up.  I have collected the photos from the
original Jack Alexander article in the
Saturday Evening Post, as well as the
painting [?] on Barefoot Bill's website

http://www.barefootsworld.net/aabilld-aa3.html

and the stained glass window at the Akron
Archives

http://www.akronaa.org/Archives/man_on_the_bed.html

I am curious to know whether people on this
list know of other visual representations of
the man in the bed that I might add to my
archive.  They don't have to be famous like
these are!

Thanks, Trysh Travis

Several years back there was a research
symposium held at Brown University with some
AA members/historians and friends of AA
attending. Since my divorce and move I can't
find anything in my apartment and also due
to the fact that my memory is vanishing I
can't remember the Jesuit sociologist who was
in attendance who had immersed himself in the
AA culture in Mexico for a long-term research
study. Maybe Ernie Kurtz might have the
paperwork from that symposium and thus, the
contact info.

The nice thing about losing my memory is
that I will always be able to discover new
places and meet new people and make new
friends.


--- amielmelnick <amiel@...> wrote:

> Hello everyone,
>
> I'm doing research on the history of AA in
> Latin America (Mexico, Central and South
> America) - how the first groups were started,
> how they spread, any secessions or diffi-
> culties starting groups (I've been reading
> what has been posted here about the Mexico
> separation).
>
> I wonder if any of you have information about
> other parts of the history of AA in Latin
> America, or suggestions for good places to
> look? I realize this is a bit broader than
> the kinds of questions you usually get, but
> I'm just a beginner!
>
> Thanks, and all best,
>
> Amiel
>
>
>

In the preface (4th edition, bottom of page xi)
it says that in the second edition,

- - - -

<<"Bill's Story," "Doctor Bob's Nightmare,"
and one other personal history from the first
edition were retained intact;

three were edited and one of these was retitled;

new versions of two stories were written, with
new titles>>

- - - -

My question is, who edited those three stories?

Good Morning/Afternoon all!

Does anyone know who the person is that is
referenced in the BB as the fourth member?

Thanks

- - - -

From the moderator:

I am assuming that you are referring to the
"devil-may-care young fellow" who appears
on page 158 in the Big Book (3rd/4th edit.).

The "devil-may-care young fellow" was 30-
year-old Ernie Galbraith of Akron, a young
man with problems [who must be distinguished
from the other Ernie G. in the early Ohio AA
group, who was Ernie Gerig of Toledo, one of
the truly great AA good old timers.]

Ernie Galbraith, who had trouble with drinking
for the rest of his life, nevertheless had
his story, "The Seven Month Slip," in the
first edition of the Big Book.  In 1941 Dr.
Bob's daughter Sue married Ernie Galbraith
but they were later divorced.

In Dale Mitchell's biography, Silkworth -
The Little Doctor Who Loved Drunks, Mitchell
suggests that Easy Does It was written by
Silkworth under the pseudonym Hugh Reilly.
I don't have the book in front of me so I
can't reference the pages where he discusses
this.  After reading the Silkworth bio, it
prompted me to track down a copy of Easy Does
It.

Chris

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

Original Message: 4983
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/AAHistoryLovers/message/4983
From: "giftpurple" <Jifgift@...>
(Jifgift at aol.com)

What is the history behind the book "Easy
Does It: Story of Mac" by Hugh Reilly?

- - - -

From the moderator:

"Easy Does It" by Hugh Reilly was a 1950s
book about an alcoholic man.

The basic bibliographic information is:

Easy does it, the story of Mac. For the
millions who as yet do not know.
by Hugh Reilly, pseud.
Type: Book; English
Publisher: New York, Kenedy [1950]
OCLC: 2662794
Related Subjects: Alcoholics Anonymous.

There is a review written by Robert E. L.
Faris. See the book review "Easy Does It:
The Story of Mac. by Hugh Reilly" in the
American Journal of Sociology, Vol. 56,
No. 3 (Nov., 1950), p. 300. (Published by
the University of Chicago Press)

There is a persistent rumour that the book
was written by Bill Wilson in order to raise
monies for the retirement of Dr. Silkworth.

I don't know if a computer analysis of the
writing styles was ever done.

Jim

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

Original Message: 4983
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/AAHistoryLovers/message/4983
From: "giftpurple" <Jifgift@...>
(Jifgift at aol.com)

What is the history behind the book "Easy
Does It: Story of Mac" by Hugh Reilly?

- - - -

From the moderator:

"Easy Does It" by Hugh Reilly was a 1950s
book about an alcoholic man.

The basic bibliographic information is:

Easy does it, the story of Mac. For the
millions who as yet do not know.
by Hugh Reilly, pseud.
Type: Book; English
Publisher: New York, Kenedy [1950]
OCLC: 2662794
Related Subjects: Alcoholics Anonymous.

There is a review written by Robert E. L.
Faris. See the book review "Easy Does It:
The Story of Mac. by Hugh Reilly" in the
American Journal of Sociology, Vol. 56,
No. 3 (Nov., 1950), p. 300. (Published by
the University of Chicago Press)

Responses from junebug, John Lee, and Mike Barns

- - - -

From: junebug0619@...
(junebug0619 at aol.com)

If a person is following the action of any one
company, he would have to know the stock symbol
of that company to read its action on the
ticker tape. Let us take as an example the
Coca-Cola Company with the symbol KO. The
tape would  show:

KO - the ticker symbol of the company

9M - the amount of shares traded, in this
case M stands for million, as K would stand
for a thousand and B for a billion

@ - at 60.79 - the last bid price in that day
per share of stock and up or down arrow - to
show the  direction of change

0.83 - the amount of change

According to the above example in the Big Book,
the stock market was 52 dropping 32 points.

- - - -

From: John Lee <johnlawlee@...>
(johnlawlee at yahoo.com)

A stock price can never be below zero. Unlike
partners, stockholders cannot be assessed when
a company has a negative value.
    john lee
    Pittsburgh

- - - -

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

I am no expert on the stock market, but stock
prices are not quoted in negative values; they
are removed from the board. A single day drop
from 52 to 32 is calamitous indeed, and could
be considered ruinous for most.

Mike B.

- - - -

Original message from "johnhartie"
<johnhartie@...> (johnhartie at yahoo.com)

In "Bill's Story" when the stockmarket crashed
the ticker said XYZ-32. Is that a minus sign
before the 32?

What is the history behind the book "Easy
Does It: Story of Mac" by Hugh Reilly?

- - - -

From the moderator:

"Easy Does It" by Hugh Reilly was a 1950s
book about an alcoholic man.

The basic bibliographic information is:

Easy does it, the story of Mac. For the
millions who as yet do not know.
by Hugh Reilly, pseud.
Type:  Book; English
Publisher: New York, Kenedy [1950]
OCLC: 2662794
Related Subjects: Alcoholics Anonymous.

There is a review written by Robert E. L.
Faris. See the book review "Easy Does It:
The Story of Mac. by Hugh Reilly" in the
American Journal of Sociology, Vol. 56,
No. 3 (Nov., 1950), p. 300. (Published by
the University of Chicago Press)

Hello everyone,

I'm doing research on the history of AA in
Latin America (Mexico, Central and South
America) - how the first groups were started,
how they spread, any secessions or diffi-
culties starting groups (I've been reading
what has been posted here about the Mexico
separation).

I wonder if any of you have information about
other parts of the history of AA in Latin
America, or suggestions for good places to
look? I realize this is a bit broader than
the kinds of questions you usually get, but
I'm just a beginner!

Thanks, and all best,

Amiel

In October, 2005 I visited Brown University
and read through a number of boxes related to
Dr. Bob and Clarence Snyder. Very few of the
boxes had been cataloged and a few of them
had plain grocery plastic bags full of loose
correspondence, post cards, Works Publishing
auditor reports, etc.

A box, labled Box 2, had Dr. Bob's wallet with
his Social Security card (1937) in it, a small
pouch of old medical instruments, a folder
on how form a group (1950), and a baseball
related to Helmsley per the box description.

I have a date of 1948 next to the baseball
note in my file but have no recollection of
where this date came from nor do I remember
examining the baseball for any autographs.
I was not permitted to take any photographs.

A box that was labled Box 1 held an old coffee
pot. It was reported to be from Dr' Bob's house
and was refered to as the "Holy Grail" of the
AA materials in the Brown collection in their
description of the collection in 2005.

I do recall the archives person from Brown not
being very excited about my examination of any
of these materials. They were much more relaxed
about me simply reading the text of materials
in the other boxes.

In previous months I had spent time at Stepping
Stones reviewing primarily the last 90 days of
Bill's life. I was hoping to see something
about the waning period of Dr. Bob's days at
Brown but found nothing in the boxes I reviewed.

I did not see all of the "boxes" and it was
hit or miss on which box I would ask to see
the mext day as it took 24 hours to get a box.

There was a lot of correspondence on royalties
(Bill, Bob, Sue Windows, Barry Leach, etc.) as
well as many disrelated text items.

One day at a time,

Pete K.

Chris very kindly sent me three views of the
baseball signed by Rollie Hemsley and identi-
fied as a 1948 World Series ball.

The signatures of Joe Dobson (CLE 1939-40
only), Johnny Allen (CLE 1936-40 only), Floyd
Stromme (1939 only), Bruce Campbell (CLE
1935-39 only), and others, identify the ball
as either late 1939 or (much less likely
because Campbell was traded to DET by
Opening Day 1940) very early (Opening
Day) 1940.

In any case, despite the label, it's not
from 1948.  Most likely 1939 when Feller was
24-9 with 296 SO and Hemsley batted .263.

I visited the collection at Brown University
in May 2007.  The ball that is there is from
the 1948 World Series Champion, Cleveland
Indians.  I can email pictures I took while
there.  I have been through the entire
collection at Brown between my trip in May
2007 and later in September.

Chris

<cbudnick@...>
(cbudnick at nc.rr.com)

Here is Nancy Olson's short bio of Ray Campbell,
who designed the Big Book dust jackets we have
been discussing:

http://www.a-1associates.com/aa/Authors.htm

An Artist's Concept -- Ray Campbell
New York City
p. 380 in 1st edition

Ray joined the fellowship in February 1938.

He began his story by quoting Herbert Spencer:
"There is a principle which is a bar against
all information, which is proof against all
arguments and which can not fail to keep a man
in everlasting ignorance-that principle is
contempt prior to investigation."

He said that the quotation is descriptive of
the mental attitudes of many alcoholics when
the subject of religion, as a cure, is first
brought to their attention. "It is only when
a man has tried everything else, when in utter
desperation and terrific need he turns to
something bigger than himself, that he gets
a glimpse of the way out. It is then that
contempt is replaced by hope, and hope by
fulfillment."

Ray chose to write of his search for spiritual
help rather than "a description of the neurotic
drinking that made the search necessary."

After investigating his alcoholic problem from
every angle, medicine, psychology, psychiatry,
and psychoanalysis, he began "flirting" with
religion as a possible way out. He had been
approaching God intellectually. That only
added to his desperation, but a seed had been
planted.

Finally he met a man, probably Bill Wilson,
who had for five years "devoted a great deal
of time and energy to helping alcoholics."
The man told him little he didn't already know,
"but what he did have to say was bereft of all
fancy spiritual phraseology -- it was simple
Christianity imparted with Divine Power."

The next day he met over twenty men who "had
achieved a mental rebirth from alcoholism."

He liked them because the were ordinary men
who were not pious nor "holier than thous."

He notes that these men were but instruments.
"Of themselves they were nothing."

He must have been an intellectual type. He not
only quotes Spencer, but Thoreau: "Most men
lead lives of quiet desperation."

It was Ray, a recognized artist, who was asked
to design the dust jacket for the 1st edition
of the Big Book. He submitted various designs
for consideration including one that was blue
and in an Art Deco style. The one chosen was
red, and yellow, with a little black, and a
little white. The words Alcoholics Anonymous
were printed across the top in large white
script. It became known as the circus jacket
because of its loud circus colors. The unused
blue jacket is today in the Archives at the
Stepping Stones Foundation.

His story was not included in the Second
Edition of the Big Book but the Spencer quote
was placed in the back of the book in
Appendix II, "Spiritual Experience."

Responses from Mitchell K., Rick Tomkins, and
Arthur Sheehan

- - - -

From: "Mitchell K." <mitchell_k_archivist@...>
(mitchell_k_archivist at yahoo.com)

I'm sure there will be lots of responses, but...

  The cover was designed by Ray Campbell. Ray was an
early NY member and an artist who lived in Carmel (or
Lake Carmel), NY (Putnam County) and his story AN
ARTIST'S CONCEPT appeared in the First Edition of the
Big Book. Ray also was the person who designed the
so-called "Circus" Dust Jacket which was chosen. The
original cover is located at the archives of the
Stepping Stones Foundation, former home of Bill and
Lois in the Bedford Hills (Westchester County) NY
area. Carmel, NY is not that far from Stepping Stones.

This Ray Campbell is not the same as the artist of the
same name born in 1956 in the UK.

- - - -

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

This is the blue "Their Pathway To A Cure"
cover. The same artist designed the yellow,
red, and white cover that was used on all
First Edition dust jackets and one that most
AAs can easily recognize.

The early AAs selected the second and called
it the 'circus' dust cover because of its
bright color arrangement.

And, the illustrator's story "An Artist's
Concept" was printed in First Editions, now
in the AAWS Experience, Strength, and Hope.

Notably, the author made the first reference
to Spencer's "contempt prior to investigation"
quote (misquoted and/or unattributed to
Herbert Spencer) that later was added to the
Big Book's "Spiritual Experience" appendix.

Enjoy the draft that was not selected; perhaps
it was too frighteningly compelling. The
second, selected cover had no images, just
the uncomplicated script lettering. To me,
both were very "art deco."

Rick, Illinois

- - - -

From: "Arthur Sheehan" <ArtSheehan@...>
(ArtSheehan at msn.com)

Hi Dirk

The brightly colored yellow and red dust
jacket usually associated with the first
edition Big Book is sometimes called the
"circus color" dust jacket. It was designed
by Ray C (Campbel) whose 1st edition Big Book
story is "An Artist's Concept."

Ray also designed an art deco style dust
jacket that was never used. It's the dust
jacket you are inquiring about. I believe a
painting of it is on display at Steppingstones
but I can't verify this as fact.

As an item of AA trivial pursuit, Ray C began
his story with a quotation he attributed to
Herbert Spencer which said: "There is a
principle which is a bar against all informa-
tion, which is proof against all arguments
and which cannot fail to keep a man in ever-
lasting ignorance - that principle is contempt
prior to investigation."

Ray's story was not included in the 2nd edition
Big Book. However, the quotation and attribution
were added to Appendix II "Spiritual Experience"
when the 2nd edition Big Book was published in
1955. It has since been found out that the
quotation should be attributed to an English
clergyman, author and college lecturer by the
name of William Paley who lived from 1743 to
1805.

Cheers
Arthur

- - - -

Original message from: "Dirk Dierking"
<wsmaugham21@...>
wsmaugham21 at yahoo.com)
>
> At http://hindsfoot.org/private.html you
> can see a picture which I found, showing what
> I have been told is an early proposed cover
> design for the Big Book.
>
> What can you tell me about who designed
> this particular cover, and that person's
> story and life?
>
> Also about whoever designed the cover that
> ended up being used for the first edition
> of the Big Book, and the whole story of how
> the first cover was chosen?
>
>   Peace,
>
>   Dirk

From: "Dirk Dierking" wsmaugham21@...
(wsmaugham21 at yahoo.com)

At http://hindsfoot.org/private.html you
can see a picture which I found, showing what
I have been told is an early proposed cover
design for the Big Book.

What can you tell me about who designed
this particular cover, and that person's
story and life?

Also about whoever designed the cover that
ended up being used for the first edition
of the Big Book, and the whole story of how
the first cover was chosen?

   Peace,

   Dirk

In "Bill's Story" when the stockmarket crashed
the ticker said xyz-32. Is that a minus sign
before the 32?

- - - -

From the moderator: (Big Book p. 4) the stock
whose symbol on the stock ticker was XYZ-32,
was Penick & Ford, which tumbled from 52 to 32
in a single day.

But what can our experts on the stock market
tell us? Was this a minus sign in front of
the number 32?

I don't have a picture of the ball, but my
impression had been that it was from 1940,
when Rollie, recently sober through AA, was a
member of the Cleveland Indians and caught
Bob Feller's no-hitter, and not from 1948,
when Rollie had retired (and in any case so
far as I know his last year with the Indians
was 1941).  Not to say he couldn't have gotten
and signed a 1948 team ball for Dr. Bob (I
know he managed in AAA ball at Columbus in
1950, so he could have been in Ohio -- and
perhaps he coached for Cleveland in 1948,
though I don't remember him there), but in
any case I'm curious.  Key signatures to show
1948 would probably be Joe Gordon and Satchel
Paige.

A.A. History Weekend - The Stories
and Pictures of How A.A. Began

with Mitchell K., Bill McN., & Barefoot Bill

August 22-24, 2008

at the Wilson House (where Bill Wilson, AA
co-founder, was born)

378 Village Street
East Dorset, VT 05253

To register for the weekend & reserve a room,
please call the Wilson House at 802/362/5524.
____________________

Mitchell K. is author of the book about his
sponsor called "How It Worked: The Story of
Clarence Snyder & the Early Days of A.A. in
Cleveland, Ohio." He has also collaborated
with several other authors on books relating
to AA history.

Bill McN. will be performing live his popular
plays titled "Moments - An Evening With Bill
W." and "Scapedream - Dr. Bob...Pure & Simple".

A video performance of his Lois W. play will
also be shown (she was Bill W.'s wife and
co-founder of Al-Anon).

Barefoot Bill will be doing a three-hour talk
and picture show called "An AA History Present-
ation with 250 Pictures of Early AA".
____________________

SCHEDULE:

Friday night 8/22/08 (after the regularly
scheduled AA meeting) - Lois Wilson one-woman
play video

Saturday morning 8/23/08 9:00 to 10:20am -
Bill McN. performing live his Dr. Bob one-man
play

Saturday morning 8/23/08 10:40 to 12noon -
Mitchell K. talk/presentation

Saturday afternoon 8/23/08 1:00 to 4:00pm
(w/break) - Barefoot Bill's AA History Present-
ation with 250 Pictures of Early AA

Saturday night 8/23/08 (after the regularly
scheduled AA meeting) - Clarence Snyder video
talk

Sunday morning 8/24/08 9:00 to 10:20am -
Mitchell K. talk/presentation

Sunday morning 8/24/08 10:40 to 12noon -
Bill McN. performing live his Bill Wilson
one-man play

From: "Stepping Stones" <info@...>
(info at steppingstones.org)

Dear Friend of Stepping Stones -

Spring has definitely come to Stepping Stones,
the historic home of Bill and Lois Wilson in
Bedford, New York.  The daffodils and tulips
are in bloom, the annual picnic is soon upon
us and visitors are waking up from a long
winter's nap and stopping by for guided tours
daily.

Spring brings important updates for the
Stepping Stones family - people like you.

The  56th Annual Picnic is Saturday,
June 7, 2008, at noon.  It's only a one-hour
train ride from New York City, so please
be sure to join us and  help spread the
word!  For a flyer or more information,
please visit the new and improved website
at www.steppingstones.org

I believe that they have already been put on
CDs.  I have a set of  three of these red
recordings and have them loaned out to a taper.

I think they are recordings of Bill W made in
1947.  Can do follow-up if necessary.

--- In AAHistoryLovers@yahoogroups.com,
"jeffyour" <jyour@...> wrote:
>
> I've run a cursory search of the archives
> of this discussion board and found nothing
> that addresses the historical origin of the
> term "Character Defects".

- - - -

The opening paragraph from a 1928 book, The
Psychology of Character, With a Survey of
Temperment, A.A. Roback, author:

"There is one department of psychology in
which no progress has been made for about two
thousand years, in spite of the fact that it
was perhaps the first topic to attract
attention . . . .the interlocked subject
character and temperament which, though
forming the core of any study of human nature,
have continued to remain in the speculative
stage, while other psychological material was
being subjected to experimental scrutiny. Only
recently have these siblings been examined
anew under the more comprehensive head of
personality. . ."

"Defects of character" was an expression used
commonly in the late 19th-early 20th centuries.
I don't think you will be able to find a
specific source for Wilson's use of it. The
phrase "defects of character" as used then
might be similar to what psychologists today
would call "personality disorders" if they
are present in a severe form. In traditional
psychological theory these are felt to be
relatively immutable once childhood has
passed.

Where James comes into it, is that he believed
strongly in the changeability of character
through overwhelming transformational experi-
ences of a mystical type. The Oxford Groupers
adopted the Jamesian (pragmatic) view and
morphed it with a brand of "second blessing"
theology which was by then a little dated.
They brushed it off and polished it up with
some dynamic-psychology theory so it would
have a wider appeal.

Cora

The 50th ICYPAA is being held July 3-6, 2008
in Oklahoma City: http://www.50thicypaa.org

We have been working with the program commit-
tee to get a slot on the program for a panel
meeting on Saturday afternoon. The likely
title for this panel is "Historical Perspective
on the ICYPAA conference" (from people that
hosted ICYPAA over the decades).

We would like to have three prearranged
panelists, one that was involved in hosting
an ICYPAA during the 60's, one that was
involved in hosting an ICYPAA during the
70's and one from the 80's.

After each of these folks have shared a little
bit about what it was like and what it meant
for their sobriety, we will open it up for
sharing from the floor.

For those of you who may know of Bill D., he
has agreed to be the Saturday night speaker.
Bill was involved in organizing the first
ICYPAA and the main speaker at the second!
If that's not enough, he first came to AA at
age 19, in New York and attended meetings with
Bill W. and many other early AAs.

Lizzie Schrock
Member 34th ICYPAA Host Committee
lizzieschrock@...
530/906/9854

or

Melanie Elliott
Member 34th ICYPAA Host Committee
melhermann@...
323/356/0432

Hello,

I was wondering how many stories about AA
figures were printed in the Reader's Digest
Condensed Books?  Whose stories were printed?

I know of only 2 stories: "My name is Bill W."
& "Bill W" by Robert Thomsen.

I am interested in finding more books in the
Reader's Digest series, including AA people
in addition to Bill W.

Thank you,
Carol W

Could the signature be "Marty Mann" instead of
"Mary Martto"?

- - - -

In a message dated 4/13/2008 3:26:55 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time,
gmaxham@... writes:

We have a first edition first printing Big
Book with all kinds of  interesting signatures
from Stepping Stones.

The woman's name that  it belonged to is
Mary Martto. Does anyone know who this woman
is? We  were told she is the second or third
woman in AA.

Area 28 archivist  Gordon Maxham

Rick wrote:

> Can we go back to Bill W. and "AA Comes Of
> Age" as the Fellowship's initial history
> effort? Bill assembled the chapters and
> stories in that work like the adventure he
> had witnessed during our formative years.

If you have a set of tapes from the Conference
in St. Louis in 1955, it is easy to note that
most of the text is transscribed from the tapes.

Jim