A younger member wanted to know if I could
find anything out about where the idea of a
group conscience grew from, and how it became
a part of AA.

Thanks so much
vicki

- - - -

From the moderator:

The Oxford Group believed not only in
individual guidance, but also that a number
of members could meet and seek divine
guidance for the activities of their group
as a whole.

In fact, all important decisions in the
Oxford Group were supposed to be made as
the result of group guidance sessions of
this sort.

But I'm sure that some of our good AA
historians in the AAHL can give us much
more in the way of useful detail about
how this practice was altered and adapted
to AA usage.

Glenn C., South Bend, Indiana

The history page on their web site states that
High Watch Farm is the oldest substance abuse
treatment facility in the world based on 12
step principles. My wife and I were in Kent,
Connecticut, a couple of years back and had
a wonderful evening when we attended their
8:00PM Saturday open speaker meeting.

Mel B. might have a it more to say. In his
book about Ebby, Mel tells of Ebby's visits
to Joy Farm (the original name), then operated
by Sister Francis.

Bill L.'s web site also has an excerpt from
the April 1986 Reader's Digest, that goes
into more detail about Bob P. and High Watch
Farm.

Kevin S. (Windham, New Hampshire, US)

- - - -

See "The Unforgettable Bill W." by Bob P.,
Reader's Digest, April 1986, at
http://www.barefootsworld.net/aabillwreadersdigest.html

- - - -

From: jenny andrews <jennylaurie1@...>
(jennylaurie1 at hotmail.com)

See also "Mrs Marty Mann: the first lady of
Alcoholics Anonymous" (Sally and David Brown;
Hazelden; 2001): "The Wilsons, Marty, and two
additional AA couples wasted no time driving
to spend a weekend at High Watch Farm ... a
rustic retreat owned and managed by a saintly
old woman who had chosen the name Sister
Francis in honor of her favorite saint ...
from then on High Watch was essentially an
AA retreat and detox center ... High Watch
Farm is still (2001) a functioning retreat
primarily for AAs and an important part of
AA history." (pp124 ff).

- - - -

Original message: garylock7008 wrote
>
> In the Big Book story "A.A. TAUGHT HIM TO
> HANDLE SOBRIETY" Bob Pearson said [page 558
> in the 4th edition] that "Within a few days
> I found myself drying out on a drunk farm."
>
> Given that it was Dr. Tiebout who persuaded
> him to seek help - is it possible that the
> help came from High Watch Farm?
>
> We were reading this story in our meeting
> here in Welland, Ontario, Canada and I found
> that not one person in the meeting had ever
> heard of this place. Over the next week or
> so, I could not find one person in our local
> area who knew about it.
>
> AH! we have so much history to pass on. A
> check on the High Watch Farm web-site shows
> that it is still carrying the AA message
> very well.Do any of the group members have
> additional information on this?     Gary
>
> - - - -
>
> >From the moderator:
>
> If you go to our Message Board and search for
> "High Watch" in quotation marks, you will
> discover that we already have a little bit
> posted about the place.
>
> Also see:
>
> http://www.highwatchfarm.com/index.php?pageid=9
>
> "It all began in 1939 when Etheldred Folsom,
> better known to her friends as Sister Francis,
> invited a group of recovering alcoholics to
> her 200 acre farm in Kent, Connecticut. She
> wanted to learn more about a new movement
> she had heard about which had began in 1935
> called Alcoholic Anonymous (AA). Among the
> visitors were Bill Wilson, the founding member
> of AA and Marty Mann the first woman to
>  maintain continuous sobriety in AA."
>
> "Ms. Folsom was so impressed with her guests
> and this movement that she offered to gift her
> Farm to the cause. Bill, knowing AA could not
> own property formed a Not-for Profit 501(c)(3)
> Organization and appointed a Board of Directors
> as its Governing Body.  His vision was for the
> Farm to become a retreat, based on the 12-step
> principles of AA where alcoholics could come
> to seek recovery from their active addiction."
>
> Glenn C. (South Bend, Indiana, US)

There is a Dr. Tom M. who started the first
group in North Carolina.

See Messages 5087 and 5138
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/AAHistoryLovers/message/5087
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/AAHistoryLovers/message/5138

Does it give a full name (or last initial)
for the Dr. Tom to whom this book is inscribed?

Or are there other reasons for believing that
this book has to have been inscribed to Tom
Powers instead of perhaps Tom M.?

- - - -

--- In AAHistoryLovers@yahoogroups.com,
"diazeztone" <eztone@...> wrote:
>
> Can anyone identify the Dr Tom mentioned in
> the sale of this book?
>
http://www.baumanrarebooks.com/rare-books/alcoholics-anonymous/twelve-steps-and-\
twelve-traditions/70545.aspx
>
> ld pierce
> aabibliography.com
>
> - - - -
>
> The inscription by Bill W. reads ""Dr. Tom
> -- my old time friend in AA"
>
> Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions
> Cost: $10,000.00
>
> "TO DR. TOM -- MY OLD TIME FRIEND IN AA": FIRST
> EDITION OF TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS,
> PRESENTATION COPY INSCRIBED BY AA FOUNDER
> BILL WILSON
>

A couple of years ago eBay had one of the
first five 12x12s to come off the press
inscribed by Bill to Tom Powers for sale.
He was instrumental in getting the book put
together.

This is not the same book as the inscription
is different and the earlier book was not
offered with a dust jacket.

Tommy H in Baton Rouge

- - - -

At 20:57 11/10/2008, diazeztone wrote:

>Can anyone identify the Dr Tom mentioned in
>the sale of this book?
>
>http://www.baumanrarebooks.com/rare-books/alcoholics-anonymous/twelve-steps-and\
-twelve-traditions/70545.aspx
>
>ld pierce
>aabibliography.com
>
>- - - -
>
>The inscription by Bill W. reads ""Dr. Tom
>-- my old time friend in AA"
>
>Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions
>Cost: $10,000.00
>
>"TO DR. TOM -- MY OLD TIME FRIEND IN AA": FIRST
>EDITION OF TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS,
>PRESENTATION COPY INSCRIBED BY AA FOUNDER
>BILL WILSON
>
>
>

An October 11, 2008 update of the original
article -- with the addition of the recently
released 2007 Survey Results -- has just been
posted on the internet:
 
"Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) Recovery Outcome
Rates: Contemporary Myth and Misinterpretation." 

By Arthur S. (Arlington, Texas), Tom E.
(Wappingers Falls, New York), and Glenn C.
(South Bend, Indiana).

Originally published January 1, 2008
 
Adobe PDF file at http://hindsfoot.org/recout01.pdf

MS Word DOC file at http://hindsfoot.org/recout01.doc
 
- - - -
 
Summary of the data:

The A.A. Triennial Membership Surveys for 1977
through 1989 show that, of those people who are
in their first month of attending A.A. meetings,
26% will still be attending A.A. meetings at
the end of that year.

Of those who are in their fourth month of
attending A.A. meetings (i.e., those who have
completed their initial ninety days, and have
thereby demonstrated a certain willingness to
really try the program), 56% will still be
attending A.A. meetings at the end of that
year.

For growth of AA sobriety ranges, the 1983
Survey showed 25% of AA members sober over
5 years and the 2004 Survey showed 50% of AA
members sober over 5 years.

For growth of AA sobriety averages, the 1983
Survey found the average AA member sober for
4 years and the 2004 Survey found the average
AA member sober for more than 8 years.

In 2002, global AA membership was around 2.1
million (1.2 million of that in the US). These
membership numbers are likely understated;
even so, it is a substantial quantitative
indicator of AA success:

      AA was helping 1 alcoholic for every 7
      active alcohol dependent adults. If we
      consider alcohol abusers to be potential
      members then it is 1 AA member for
      every 15 problem drinkers.

      Corresponding research in the 1991-1992
      NIAAA "National Longitudinal Alcohol
      Epidemiologic Survey” (NLAES) showed
      similar numbers. There was 1 AA member
      for every 7 alcohol dependent people and
      1 for every 12 either alcohol dependent
      or alcohol abusers.

The authors state in conclusion: "The above
are not measurements of failure."
    
- - - -
 
FROM THE INTRODUCTION:
 
This paper addresses an erroneous myth that
AA is experiencing a 5% (or less) “success
rate” today as opposed to either a 50%, 70%,
75%, 80% or 93% (take your pick) “success
rate” it once reputedly enjoyed in the 1940s
and 1950s. The term “myth” is used to emphasize
that the low “success rates” promulgated are
a product of imagination, invention and
inattention to detail rather than fact-based
research.

Also noteworthy in the derivation of the
mythical percentages, is the absence of
fundamental academic disciplines of methodical
research, corroborating verification and
factual citation of sources. Regrettably, some
of the advocates who are propagating the myth
are AA members who purport to be “AA Historians”
and appear to be advocating agendas that portray
fiction as fact and hearsay as history ....

Claims of a 10%, 5% or less success rate for
contemporary AA are erroneous and rest largely
and misguidedly on the misinterpretation of
data in a 1989-1990 internal AA General Service
Office report on “AA Triennial Membership
Surveys.”

The assertion of a 50-75% success rate in AA
is derived from various AA literature sources
and other written sources, but is not explicitly
demonstrated except in one instance. That
instance pertains to the AA members who had
their personal stories printed in the first
edition “Big Book” ....

Over the years, the internet has provided an
international forum for anyone who can access
it. A number of so-called “recovery” or “AA
history” or “AA archives” web sites have pro-
liferated. Many teem with personal grievances,
screeds, and widely varying (and revisionist)
interpretations of AA history and the AA
program of recovery. An abundance of academic
and medical special interest web sites have
materialized as well.

The erroneous 10%, 5% or less success rate
myth for contemporary AA has proliferated
without as much as a token challenge to its
veracity or investigation of its origin. The
topic of AA success or failure outcomes
suffers from a great deal of anecdotal
misinformation, misinterpretation and
editorializing ....

Based on research discoveries to date, it is
believed that the 50% + 25% success rate is
in all probability a very reasonable “best
estimate” of AA’s success (both early and
contemporary).

The sole qualification (it is vitally important
and often disregarded) is that the 50% + 25%
success outcome rates apply only to those
prospects who attempt to give AA a serious try
(i.e. you get out of AA what you put into it).
This rests on the simple, obvious, premise that
a remedy cannot be construed as either a
“success” or “failure” until it is at least
tried and tested.

Also of contextual importance, is that the
subset of the past and present prospect popu-
lation falling into this category is estimated
to be 20% to 40% (1 or 2 out of 5) of the
total prospect population.

There is a full-page picture in "Pass It On"
of Bill driving and Lois in the sidecar. P. 71.

For those who are interested in pictures,
Lois's memoirs "Lois Remembers" has a lot
of great pictures from -- and a day-by-day
(almost) account of -- their "industrial
investigation" journey, April, 1925.

-cm
`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸.·´¯`·...¸><((((º>

___________________________

From: "David LeBlanc" <Inkman3@...>
(Inkman3 at webtv.net)

Look at the photo section in the web site
set up by District Five in Central Texas:

http://www.texasdistrict5.com/history-in-photos.htm

The NCA Bulletin published by The National
Council on Alcoholism Vol 2 No 1 dated July
1976 carries the Headline CELEBRITIES IDENTIFY
SELVES AS RECOVERED ALCOHOLICS.

Shown on front page is a photograph of Wilbur
D. Mills, Garry Moore, Dick Van Dyke and Edwin
E. "Buzz" Aldrin Jr.  Inside is a list of  the
persons who identified themselves as recovered
alcoholics along with many photographs
including a group of over fifty persons.
This copy of the bulletin was donated to my
archive collection by Don Bennitt of Frankfort,
Illinois.

I have also a framed photograph with identifi-
cation of the group 16 x  19 and also a
12 x 15 wooden and metal plaque describing
the occasion with all names and description of
the occasion, which was presented to one of
the people identified.  These two items came
from The National Council on  Alcoholism.

- - - -

From the moderator:

The celebrities who made up this group of
fifty or so never mentioned their AA membership
in public. They stated only that they were
recovered alcoholics, and that they were making
this public statement to make clear to the
public that alcoholism was treatable, and
that alcoholics could be restored to fully
functioning and productive members of society.
This was the principal message of Marty Mann's
National Council on Alcoholism: that instead
of the old punitive approach of automatically
firing alcoholics from their jobs or throwing
them in jail, they should be provided with the
kind of treatment that would enable them to
recover their place in the world.

      See Sally and David R. Brown, A Biography
      of Mrs. Marty Mann: The First Lady of
      Alcoholics Anonymous
      http://www.sallyanddavidbrown.com

      Sgt. Bill Swegen, On the Military Firing
      Line, on the punitive American attitude
      toward alcoholism in the 1940's and 50's
      http://hindsfoot.org/kBS1.html

This group of fifty celebrities is the
one referred to by Nancy Olson (the
founder of the AAHistoryLovers) in her book
"With a Lot of Help from Our Friends," see
http://hindsfoot.org/kNO1.html

Nancy asked some of the members of this group
of fifty to appear before a U.S. Senate
committee on alcoholism, along with other
important figures in the field of alcoholism
treatment and recovery, including Bill W.
himself.

The traditional AA policy was followed at all
times. People who said publicly that they were
recovered alcoholics could give their full
names (and the TV and newspaper cameras were
allowed to photograph them full face) AS LONG
AS THEY NEVER MENTIONED THEIR A.A. MEMBERSHIP.

Those who talked to the Senate committee about
their A.A. membership (including Bill W. and
one or two U.S. Navy officers, among others)
gave only their first names, and were seated
with their backs to the cameras, so that only
the backs of their heads were shown.

The January 1951 issue of the Grapevine, when
it marks the anniversary of Dr. Bob's passing,
lists November nineteenth at noonday.

This is presumably an error, because all the
other sources of information that I know give
November sixteenth as Dr. Bob's date-of-death.

Handlebar Rick, Wapakoneta, Ohio

- - - -

From the moderator: we are two days past the
anniversary of his death now (this is November
18), and probably should have posted something
to commemorate it, but at any rate, the correct
date is indeed November 16:

Dr. Bob = Robert Holbrook Smith
born 8 August 1879; died 16 November 1950

See for example:

Mitchell K. in
http://alcoholism.about.com/library/blmitch5.htm
"Dr. Bob never drank again until his death,
November 16, 1950."

http://silkworth.net/aabiography/roberthsmith.html
Dr. Bob died on November 16, 1950.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Smith_(doctor)
"Robert Holbrook Smith (August 8, 1879
- November 16, 1950) was an American physician
and surgeon who co-founded Alcoholics Anonymous.
He was also known as Dr. Bob."

This, and MANY  other great historical pictures
are available on:

http://www.mensworkshop.org/AA_Gallery/index.htm

This is a super resource for any History Lover.

Can anyone shed any light on this? Someone sent
me this email:

Have you ever heard of The Fifty? It's a name
for fifty AA'ers who held a press luncheon in,
I believe, New York City.

Dick Van Dyke and Sid Caesar (very popular
American comedians), a Senator, lawyers and
doctors all blew their anonymity as a way of
broadening the reach of AA.

I was told by one the participants that, while
not sponsored by AA, it was organized with
AA's knowledge. I believe he said an AA trustee
resigned and organized it.

Ring any bells?

- - - -

From the moderator: let's be careful here.
It is perfectly all right for an AA member
to state in the media that he or she is a
recovering alcoholic. This was established
back in the time of Marty Mann.

Senator Harold Hughes regularly announced
in public that he was a recovered alcoholic
( http://hindsfoot.org/kNO1.html ).

Simply stating in the public media that you
are an alcoholic is not "blowing your
anonymity."

Because Hughes never stated in the public media
back then that he was an AA member. That
is what the traditons forbid.

As long as you leave all mention of your
AA membership out of it, you are not "blowing
your anonymity."

Glenn C.

And, researching to find Church Street, it's
in lower Manhattan's financial district, a
few blocks from Wall Street.

Rick, Illinois

- - - -

From: schaberg43

Regarding the dates for the start of the post
office box numbers, the documents in the GSO
Archive provide the following information:
The ad for the Big Book that was run in the
New York Times on April 11, 1939 is the first
instance of the 657 post office box number
being used:
Have you an
ALCOHOLIC PROBLEM?
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS - the story of precisely
how more than 100 men have recovered from alcoholism.
For information write
WORKS PUBLISHING COMPANY
Church Street Annex P. O. Box 657, New York, N.Y.
[Archive 1939-192, Box 59, Folder C(1)]
Presumably, this post office box was contracted
for on April 7, 1939 - the same day that the
post office box for the Alcoholic Foundation
was contracted for. In a letter of that date
to board member, Frank Amos, Hank Parkhurst
wrote:
We paid $4.00 which is the first quarter rent
on post box #658, Church Street Annex, Post
Office, New York City, in the name of the
Alcoholic Foundation. Will you please issue
a check covering this $4.00.
[Archive 1939-179, Box 59, Folder D.1]
Best,
Old Bill

Probably the only connection between AA and
the activities of HUAC (I know of none with
Joe McCarthy, except that he could have used
AA) would be that a number of those black-
listed in the entertainment industry died
alcoholic deaths -- but whether they came to
AA is doubtful.

As far as guilt by association with the Left,
Bill Wilson was scarcely anywhere left of
political center, the Oxford Group was
pro-Capitalist and even in some minds Right-
wing, and the only Left-winger I know of
involved with AA in the early days (and she
mostly with Al-Anon) was Dr. Ruth Fox, a
non-Communist Socialist like her husband,
Mac Coleman, who died in 1950.  Of the
messengers to Ebby, for example, Rowland H.
was a Republican State Senator in Rhode
Island during WW1, Cebra G. a Republican
State Senator in Vermont in the 1930s, and
Shep C. ran for Congress as a Republican in
1940.

In the Big Book story "A.A. TAUGHT HIM TO
HANDLE SOBRIETY" Bob Pearson said [page 558
in the 4th edition] that "Within a few days
I found myself drying out on a drunk farm."

Given that it was Dr. Tiebout who persuaded
him to seek help - is it possible that the
help came from High Watch Farm?

We were reading this story in our meeting
here in Welland, Ontario, Canada and I found
that not one person in the meeting had ever
heard of this place. Over the next week or
so, I could not find one person in our local
area who knew about it.

AH! we have so much history to pass on. A
check on the High Watch Farm web-site shows
that it is still carrying the AA message
very well.Do any of the group members have
additional information on this?     Gary

- - - -

From the moderator:

If you go to our Message Board and search for
"High Watch" in quotation marks, you will
discover that we already have a little bit
posted about the place.

Also see:

http://www.highwatchfarm.com/index.php?pageid=9

"It all began in 1939 when Etheldred Folsom,
better known to her friends as Sister Francis,
invited a group of recovering alcoholics to
her 200 acre farm in Kent, Connecticut. She
wanted to learn more about a new movement
she had heard about which had began in 1935
called Alcoholic Anonymous (AA). Among the
visitors were Bill Wilson, the founding member
of AA and Marty Mann the first woman to
  maintain continuous sobriety in AA."

"Ms. Folsom was so impressed with her guests
and this movement that she offered to gift her
Farm to the cause. Bill, knowing AA could not
own property formed a Not-for Profit 501(c)(3)
Organization and appointed a Board of Directors
as its Governing Body.  His vision was for the
Farm to become a retreat, based on the 12-step
principles of AA where alcoholics could come
to seek recovery from their active addiction."

Glenn C. (South Bend, Indiana, US)

Can anyone identify the Dr Tom mentioned in
the sale of this book?

http://www.baumanrarebooks.com/rare-books/alcoholics-anonymous/twelve-steps-and-\
twelve-traditions/70545.aspx

ld pierce
aabibliography.com

- - - -

The inscription by Bill W. reads ""Dr. Tom
-- my old time friend in AA"

Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions
Cost: $10,000.00

"TO DR. TOM -- MY OLD TIME FRIEND IN AA": FIRST
EDITION OF TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS,
PRESENTATION COPY INSCRIBED BY AA FOUNDER
BILL WILSON

Does anyone have any links to AA sites that
have a picture of the Harley Davidson which
Bill and Lois Wilson used while they toured
the country?

I'm particularly interested in finding a
picture of the two of them, where Lois is
driving and Bill is in the side car. Any help
would be greatly appreciated!

In love and sevice, Clyde G.

<cloydg449@...>
(cloydg449 at sbcglobal.net)

Can anyone date the Akron Manual?

The various web sites are not in agreement as
to exactly when it was written, and it would
be helpful to know.

Thanks,

Richard

Whitman's novel has just recently (2007) been
brought back into print, with an introduction,
and a couple of shorter Whitman pieces (plus
Abe Lincoln's 1842 Springfield Washingtonian
address).  My recollection is that the book
was never really finished off, and in any case
the whole production is brief.  As to whether
it's worth reading, that depends on your taste
in temperance literature, but it's scarcely a
long read, and there's some good journalism in
it, and it's written at a critical point in
American temperance literature, besides being
by a major author (if in a very minor key),
so I'd say yes, but that's just my opinion.

      -- Jared Lobdell

From: S Sommers <scmws@...>
(scmws at yahoo.com)

History or not, you can find reproductions of
dust covers from the company in this link:

http://dustjackets.org/

Thanks for everything.

Sam Sommers
Elkhart Indiana

      <bigbookken@...>
      (bigbookken at yahoo.com)
      also refers us to this site: "Great
      quality reproduction dust jackets."

      <chicouple7560@...>
      (chicouple7560 at sbcglobal.net)
      also suggest this site.

- - - -

From: Jocelyn <prpllady51@...>
(prpllady51 at yahoo.com)

You can purchase them here:

http://anonpress.org/store/

Jocelyn

      The anonpress site is also sent in by
      David Jones <jonesd926@...>
      (jonesd926 at aol.com)

      and james ryan <elephant_7@...>
      (elephant_7 at yahoo.com)

- - - -

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

Dust jackets for all editions are available
through this web site:

http://abookman.com/aacatalog.htm

Their email address is <abookman@...>
(abookman at mchsi.com)

You will have to look through this site to
find the section that deals with Big Book
dust jackets.

YIS,
Shakey Mike Gwirtz

Whitman and the Washingtonians

<<Whitman was a vocal proponent of temperance
and rarely drank alcohol. He once claimed he
did not taste "strong liquor" until he was
thirty and occasionally argued for prohibition.
One of his earliest long fiction works, the
novel Franklin Evans; or, The Inebriate, first
published November 23, 1842, is a temperance
novel. Whitman wrote the novel at the height of
popularity of the Washingtonian movement though
the movement itself was plagued with contra-
dictions, as was Franklin Evans. Years later
Whitman claimed he was embarrassed by the book
and called it a "damned rot". He dismissed it
by saying he wrote the novel in three days
solely for money while he was under the
influence of alcohol himself. Even so, he
wrote other pieces recommending temperance,
including The Madman and a short story
"Reuben's Last Wish".>>

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walt_Whitman

- - - -

Also from <John.Quinn@...>
(John.Quinn at SBCGlobal.net)

Joe McCarthy (a Senator) often gets erroneously
associated with the House (of Representatives)
Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC).

HUAC was the entity that led to the Hollywood
black-listing and people being jailed for
contempt of Congress. In one form or another,
it ran from the mid-1930s to mid-1970s before
being abolished.

McCarthy later adopted the methods used by
HUAC in his Senate committee hearings during
the early to mid-1950s. After the infamous
Army-McCarthy Hearings of the mid-1950s, he
was ultimately discredited and censured by the
Senate. He was very likely an alcoholic and
likely died from it in the late 1950s at a
relatively young age.

Cheers
Arthur

P.S. I certainly could be wrong, but as a
postscript to this message, I believe the
largest external threat to AA is alcohol.

According to the World Health Organization
and NCADD, alcohol is the third leading cause
of preventable deaths world-wide.

- - - -

-----Original Message-----

I'm involved in a Big Book/AA History Study.
Last week we were looking at some of the
external historical issues that have affected
our fellowship (and its survival of them) --
wars, complications by association with the
Oxford Groups, Katrina/New Orleans, etc.

One newcomer in the Group was wondering whether
any known effects or difficulties were caused
to the fellowship during the McCarthy investi-
gations of the 1950s?

- - - -

From the moderator:

See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McCarthyism

"McCarthyism is a term describing the intense
anti-communist suspicion in the United States
in a period that lasted roughly from the late
1940s to the late 1950s .... Originally coined
to criticize the actions of U.S. Senator Joseph
McCarthy, 'McCarthyism' later took on a more
general meaning, not necessarily referring to
the conduct of Joseph McCarthy alone."

Amazon.com lists both the reprint ($14.95)
and a couple of originals ($75-$130):

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keyword\
s=Walt+Whitman+-+%22Inebriate%22&x=11&y=16

Mike Barns

- - - -

Also from: charles Knapp <cdknapp@...>
(cdknapp at pacbell.net)

Regarding the dates for the start of the post
office box numbers, the documents in the GSO
Archive provide the following information:

The ad for the Big Book that was run in the
New York Times on April 11, 1939 is the first
instance of the 657 post office box number
being used:

Have you an
ALCOHOLIC PROBLEM?
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS – the story of precisely
how more than 100 men have recovered from alcoholism.
For information write
WORKS PUBLISHING COMPANY
Church Street Annex P. O. Box 657, New York, N.Y.

[Archive 1939-192, Box 59, Folder C(1)]

Presumably, this post office box was contracted
for on April 7, 1939 – the same day that the
post office box for the Alcoholic Foundation
was contracted for. In a letter of that date
to board member, Frank Amos, Hank Parkhurst
wrote:

We paid $4.00 which is the first quarter rent
on post box #658, Church Street Annex, Post
Office, New York City, in the name of the
Alcoholic Foundation. Will you please issue
a check covering this $4.00.

[Archive 1939-179, Box 59, Folder D.1]

Best,

Old Bill

Does anyone have any information about Walt
Whitman's novel on the alcoholic?  Unfortun-
ately, I cannot remember the name, (I think
it was called the Inebriate) but I know he
wrote one; it was not very popular, but I am
wondering if it is worth looking for. 
    
Thanks and love,
 
--Dirk
 
- - - -

From the moderator:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walt_Whitman

"Early in his career, [Walt Whitman] also
produced a temperance novel, Franklin Evans
(1842)."

This novel was reprinted a little over a
year ago:

http://www.popmatters.com/pm/review/franklin-evans-or-the-inebriate-by-walt-whit\
man-ed-christopher-castiglia-an

Franklin Evans, or the Inebriate: A Tale of
the Times by Walt Whitman [ed. Christopher
Castiglia and Glenn Hendler] Duke University
Press, July 2007, 232 pages

Glad you responded, John, but more questions
come to my mind along with one unproven
assumption.

The accurate Alcoholic Foundation/Works
Publishing Co. office move dates are not at
my fingertips, but I am confident that a Post
Office Box was first established for the
expected massive inquiries for 1939 book
sales. Then again, the Liberty article came
in September 1939, and still there was no
large spike in BB requests. Of course,
history tells us that a sales rush didn't
happen until the watershed of the March 1941
Post article. Then, the Post article included
an office address while the 1939 Liberty article
did not.

Even Bill and Lois were living almost hand-
to-mouth with other AA friends/patrons in the
spring and summer of 1939, or were awaiting
foreclosure on Lois' family home in Brooklyn.

Was the Church Street Annex near Vesey Street
where the 24th Street Clubhouse took form?
a simple US Post Office branch (just like a
Box 459, Grand Central Station)?

Was it the Riverside (Rockefeller) Church's
or Calvary Church Mission's original Annex
address?

Near a subway stop on the way to Newark and
close to Wall Street?

Perhaps Dr. Kurtz or someone from Manhattan
knows these answers.

As far as my guarded assumption: wouldn't
'Church Street Annex, P.O. NYC' have a more
cosmopolitan and "national-type" feel than
an address of 17 Williams Street, Newark,
New Jersey?

I could be mistaken. On a side note, pity poor
Hank and the timing of his meltdowns; perhaps
he couldn't handle unrequited, unreturned love
from Ruth while he was respectably married at
the time.

Still, in my view Hank remains one of our
pivotal AA Pioneers despite his personal
conduct (not judgin' here too much, just
seein'). AA seems to have had a few Pioneer
scoundrels.

Not a saint either,

Rick, Illinois

- - - -

Message 5346 from John B.
<jax760@...> (jax760 at yahoo.com)
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/AAHistoryLovers/message/5346

This answers a lot of questions:

AACOA has the post office box moving in 1940.
But according to this letter it moved in 1939.
This explains Hank's meltdown in June of 39
and his subsequent relapse in September of 39.

Is the date in Pass it On for the office move
still correct as 3/16/1940? How was this
established?

Best Regards

John B

- - - -

"rick tompkins" <ricktompkins@...> wrote:

WORKS PUBLISHING CO.
Church Street Annex, Post Office Box 657
New York City
May 4, 1939

Don't know if this is appropriate or not but
I was wondering if anyone knows how to get
a hold of copies of the "circus jacket" cover
of our BB -- I have purchased them a long time
ago (made by? I don't know) and gave them away
to a lot of friends -- now I have been out for
a long time and would like to purchase some
more if anyone knows how.

Thanks so much -- and I learn so much from this
site and share it with others -- our history
is very important to me.

Have a great day sober,
vicki--the real alkie

Long Beach man sentenced for killing his AA sponsor

By Tracy Manzer, Staff Writer

11/06/2008

LONG BEACH - A 29-year-old Long Beach man was
sentenced to more than 50 years to life in
prison Thursday for the 2006 shooting death
of his Alcoholics Anonymous sponsor.

Scott Gordon Reynolds said nothing as the
sentence was handed down and did not look back
at his family or the two dozen family and
friends of his victim, 33-year-old Uriel
Noriega, who packed one side of a Long Beach
Superior Courtroom.

"He was always interested in helping people
from day one," Ulysses Noriega told the court
in an emotional victim impact statement.

"He found his calling (with AA), he felt
fulfilled," the brother said.

Reynolds claimed he planned to kill himself
Sept. 2, 2006, in view of his fellow AA members
in front of St. Luke's Episcopal Church, 525
Seventh St.

Instead, he turned the gun on his sponsor once
he saw Noriega's face, emptying the weapon and
shooting the victim repeatedly.

"People refer to this as a murder, but in my
opinion it was an assassination," said Eddie
Milton, the victim's uncle.

Reynolds told the jury that he snapped after
the victim told other members in AA the
defendant was gay, a secret he claimed he
had told only to his mother and to Noriega.

"None of that was substantiated in court,"
Deputy District Attorney Patrick O'Crowley
said Thursday.

O'Crowley said the victim's sponsor testified
that Noriega had come to him for help in
dealing with Reynolds, but that the information
never went any further than the two men.

Under the rules of the program, information
shared between a sponsor and their sponsee is
confidential. New sponsors, such as Noriega,
who are in training can also go to their
sponsors for help if needed, O'Crowley said.

The defense also claimed Reynolds was mentally
ill, saying he was diagnosed with bipolar
disorder just prior to the slaying.

Neither defense argument worked and Reynolds
was convicted on all counts, including first-
degree murder and the personal use of a
firearm, resulting in a 50 years to life
sentence.

A charge of criminal threats added 8 months to
his sentence, which his attorney - Natasha
Khamashta - asked be served concurrently.

Long Beach Superior Court Judge Jesse Rodriguez
denied the request, tacking the extra time onto
the life sentence to be served consecutively.

He told the defendant that he had destroyed
the lives of two families, that of the
victim's and his own, and that he had
sympathy for both families, but primarily
for the victim's family.

"You will always have Mr. Reynolds to talk to,
to look at, to help him as much as you can,"
the judge said to Reynold's family.

"Mr. Noriega's family, you have a void that
you will never be able to fill... The most
empty feeling is the loss of a child."

Rodriguez did grant the defense's request to
strike one point from the record made by a
probation officer in a report filed at the
time of Reynold's arrest.

In the report, the officer stated that the
slaying was a crime of extreme violence, that
the defendant used a gun in the killing and
that he took advantage of a position of trust
with the victim in order to commit the murder.

Khamashta argued the information should be
removed from the record so that it would not
be there in 50 years when her client becomes
eligible for parole.

"Everything (the probation officer) wrote in
here is true. This was a crime of great
violence, he shot him ... I lost count of how
many times," the judge responded.

But Rodriguez agreed to remove just one point,
that the murderer used a position of trust to
carry out the crime, then ordered the defendant
to pay close to $4,000 in restitution for the
cost of the victim's funeral.

The judge's decision came after the victim's
brother delivered an extremely emotional
victim impact statement to the court.

Speaking on behalf of his family, Ulysses
Noriega lashed out at Reynolds and his
attorney, saying their accusations that his
brother was a gossip were untrue and ran
counter to the life that the victim had led.

Noriega worked as a lifeguard until a back
injury ended his career, an injury that
required two surgeries and permanently reduced
Noriega's mobility, Ulysses Noriega told the
court.

But his desire to help people was just as
strong and his role in AA helped him to
further his dreams of working with people
in need, the brother said.

"He helped hundreds of people through (their)
darkest moments," Ulysses Noriega said.

Ulysses Noriega also begged Reynolds and his
family to accept the sentence and to stop
their costly court battles and cease with
the claims that the victim was somehow
responsible for his death and that Reynolds
was mentally ill and therefore should not be
held responsible.

"He's a murderer who belongs in prison with
other murderers," the brother said, stopping
occasionally as his emotions swelled.

"Please do not try to appeal this. Have some
respect and let us live in peace."

I'm involved in a Big Book/AA History Study.
Last week we were looking at some of the
external historical issues that have affected
our fellowship (and its survival of them) --
wars, complications by association with the
Oxford Groups, Katrina/New Orleans, etc.

One newcomer in the Group was wondering whether
any known effects or difficulties were caused
to the fellowship during the McCarthy investi-
gations of the 1950s?

- - - -

From the moderator:

See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McCarthyism

"McCarthyism is a term describing the intense
anti-communist suspicion in the United States
in a period that lasted roughly from the late
1940s to the late 1950s .... Originally coined
to criticize the actions of U.S. Senator Joseph
McCarthy, 'McCarthyism' later took on a more
general meaning, not necessarily referring to
the conduct of Joseph McCarthy alone."

This answers a lot of questions:

AACOA has the post office box moving in 1940.
But according to this letter it moved in 1939.
This explains Hank's meltdown in June of 39
and his subsequent relapse in September of 39.

Is the date in Pass it On for the office move
still correct as 3/16/1940? How was this
established?

Best Regards

John B

--- In AAHistoryLovers@yahoogroups.com, "rick tompkins"
<ricktompkins@...> wrote:
>
> (typed letter to Solway, N.J., 25 miles northeast of Philadelphia,
> Pennsylvania; it's probably still a small crossroads town.)
>
>   _____
>
>
>
> WORKS PUBLISHING CO.
>
> Church Street Annex, Post Office Box 657
>
> New York City
>
>
>
>
>
> May 4, 1939
>
>
>
> Dear Sir:
>
>
>
>                 Thank you for your inquiry regarding our
book "Alcoholics
> Anonymous".
>
> The story behind this book is briefly as follows:
>
>
>
> Over 150 chronic alcoholics have rehabilitated themselves from what
>
> They have come to regard as an illness. These men and women, who
had be-
>
> lieved themselves weak-willed or victims of a habit, realized that
society
>
> does not shun a diabetic.doesn't blame a cripple.doesn't scorn a
blind
>
> man.and from that standpoint they began.
>
>
>
>                 Approximately five years ago, a man pronounced
incurably
> alcoholic
>
> began desperately to seek an answer. Through a lucky circumstance he
> stumbled
>
> upon a solution. He tried to pass it along to other chronic
alcoholics, and
>
> after several failures, he "clicked" with a man. He continued his
efforts,
> in
>
> spite of other failures, until a third "man" got it. After a year
of what
>
> might be called cutting and fitting a pattern, there were three men
who had
>
> recovered. The next year added ten to the first three. The third
year found
>
> the thirteen increased to over thirty with a rising percentage of
recoveries
>
> as they developed a procedure. At the end of the fourth year over
150
> chronic
>
> alcoholics were doing no drinking whatsoever. Today, in the fifth
year, the
>
> number is increasing rapidly, with over fifty percent success of
those ap-
>
> proached.
>
>
>
>                 These people, who dub themselves Alcoholics
Anonymous, try
> to keep
>
> their anonymity because the could not carry on the business of
earning
>
> a living if presented with an overwhelming flood of appeals for
personal
>
> assistance.
>
>
>
>                 However, they have written a book called "alcoholics
> Anonymous" in
>
> which they give a precise picture of their procedure. The book is
published
>
> by the Works Publishing Company, organized and financed mostly by
small sub-
>
> scriptions from the member themselves. The profits from the book
are being
>
> used at present to extend the work and to liquidate indebtedness
incurred in
>
> bringing the work to its present status.
>
>
>
>                 The men concerned are not prohibitionists.however,
they know
> that
>
> they, and many others like them, are unable to take so much as one
drink
>
> without disastrous results. Neither do they claim any mystic healing
> methods.
>
>
>
>                 We have gone into detail because, having suffered
the
> torments of the
>
> malady of alcoholism ourselves, the extension of this work is of
paramount
>
> importance. The book is a sound starting point for the alcoholic
who sin-
>
> cerely wants to recover. Furthermore, the book is helpful to the
family and
>
> those in contact with the alcoholic, for it is necessary that they
also
> under-
>
> stand the problem. The story of one man who rehabilitated himself
with the
>
> aid of the book alone is included in the volume "Alcoholics
Anonymous."
>
>
>
>
Sincerely,
>
>
(signature)
> R. Miller
>
> RH.
>
>
>
>   _____
>
>
>
> Hi group,
>
> Placed in the AA Archives at the General Service Office long ago
>
> and used with permission of the writer's surviving relative,
>
> "Miller" is the maiden name of our Fellowship's pioneer
>
> secretary, Ruth Hock. In her seven years time with
>
> Honor Dealers, Works Publishing, and the Alcoholic Foundation
>
> she typed thousands of outreach replies like this one,
>
> with some using the 'Miller' signature.
>
> Compound this with the 2.4 million Big Books distributed since
>
> April 1939, her early efforts gave AA its best start to our growth
>
> of geometric proportions!
>
> Rick, Illinois
>
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>

(typed letter to Solway, N.J., 25 miles northeast of Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania; it's probably still a small crossroads town.)

   _____



WORKS PUBLISHING CO.

Church Street Annex, Post Office Box 657

New York City





May 4, 1939



Dear Sir:



                 Thank you for your inquiry regarding our book "Alcoholics
Anonymous".

The story behind this book is briefly as follows:



Over 150 chronic alcoholics have rehabilitated themselves from what

They have come to regard as an illness. These men and women, who had be-

lieved themselves weak-willed or victims of a habit, realized that society

does not shun a diabetic.doesn't blame a cripple.doesn't scorn a blind

man.and from that standpoint they began.



                 Approximately five years ago, a man pronounced incurably
alcoholic

began desperately to seek an answer. Through a lucky circumstance he
stumbled

upon a solution. He tried to pass it along to other chronic alcoholics, and

after several failures, he "clicked" with a man. He continued his efforts,
in

spite of other failures, until a third "man" got it. After a year of what

might be called cutting and fitting a pattern, there were three men who had

recovered. The next year added ten to the first three. The third year found

the thirteen increased to over thirty with a rising percentage of recoveries

as they developed a procedure. At the end of the fourth year over 150
chronic

alcoholics were doing no drinking whatsoever. Today, in the fifth year, the

number is increasing rapidly, with over fifty percent success of those ap-

proached.



                 These people, who dub themselves Alcoholics Anonymous, try
to keep

their anonymity because the could not carry on the business of earning

a living if presented with an overwhelming flood of appeals for personal

assistance.



                 However, they have written a book called "alcoholics
Anonymous" in

which they give a precise picture of their procedure. The book is published

by the Works Publishing Company, organized and financed mostly by small sub-

scriptions from the member themselves. The profits from the book are being

used at present to extend the work and to liquidate indebtedness incurred in

bringing the work to its present status.



                 The men concerned are not prohibitionists.however, they know
that

they, and many others like them, are unable to take so much as one drink

without disastrous results. Neither do they claim any mystic healing
methods.



                 We have gone into detail because, having suffered the
torments of the

malady of alcoholism ourselves, the extension of this work is of paramount

importance. The book is a sound starting point for the alcoholic who sin-

cerely wants to recover. Furthermore, the book is helpful to the family and

those in contact with the alcoholic, for it is necessary that they also
under-

stand the problem. The story of one man who rehabilitated himself with the

aid of the book alone is included in the volume "Alcoholics Anonymous."



                                                                 Sincerely,

                                                                 (signature)
R. Miller

RH.



   _____



Hi group,

Placed in the AA Archives at the General Service Office long ago

and used with permission of the writer's surviving relative,

"Miller" is the maiden name of our Fellowship's pioneer

secretary, Ruth Hock. In her seven years time with

Honor Dealers, Works Publishing, and the Alcoholic Foundation

she typed thousands of outreach replies like this one,

with some using the 'Miller' signature.

Compound this with the 2.4 million Big Books distributed since

April 1939, her early efforts gave AA its best start to our growth

of geometric proportions!

Rick, Illinois



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

What were the printing runs for the Harper
12x12s?

Tommy H in  Baton Rouge




From: "JOHN WIKELIUS" <nov85@...>
Date: Tue Nov 4, 2008 8:51 pm
Subject: Re: [AAHistoryLovers] Harper 12x12s  justjohn1431946
  Offline
  Send Message
  Edit Membership

1st printing D-C April 1953
2nd B-K  February 1960
3rd Do not know the date- been asking.  Someone know the information on
this.