Aa history Lovers 2009 moderators Nancy Olson and Glenn F. Chesnut page
Yüklə 11,49 Mb.
|
|
forming of the first AA group in each of those places?
as the location of the first Wisconsin AA group, not Milwaukee (where the group was not begun until 1 May 1941). Can anybody clarify that one? Which AA group was first? And if it was Waunakee, can anyone give us a more precise date?
think think From: John Barton . . . . . . . . . . . . 7/9/2009 6:03:00 PM
adopted by AA members from a sign that came with early IBM calculating machines. The sign said:
THINK of what you are doing THINK of what you have done - - - - J. Lobdell We have been discussing the early AA slogans, especially "But for the Grace of God." But another of the early slogans was also mentioned: This one -- "Think think think" -- was perhaps not biblical. It seems to have been an IBM slogan put up on a Cleveland AA bulletin board or the equivalent ca 1944 much to the chagrin of Clarence S., who observed (approximately) "Alcoholics don't think -- they emote." (Mitch K. can probably provide chapter and verse on this.) IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII ++++Message 5857. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: First AA group - Toronto in Ontario
From: Bernadette MacLeod . . . . . . . . . . . . 7/10/2009 4:01:00 PM IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII The first AA meeting in Ontario, Canada was held at the Little Denmark Restaurant on January 13th, 1943. Present were Reverends George Little and Percy Price, accompanied by six alcoholics.
first printing June 1993. YIS, bernadette m. king city group ontario
From G.C. the moderator, see: http://www.aatoronto.org/webapp/app/webroot/index.php/pages/committees/archi ves
exact, on January 13th, 1943. The first meeting was held without fanfare at the Little Denmark Restaurant, located on the west side of Bay Street between Gerrard and College Streets. Present were Reverends George Little and Percy Price (see below), accompanied by six alcoholics. Enough interest was shown in the initial
meeting that a second meeting was scheduled and held one week later. And so, Alcoholics Anonymous in Ontario was born." Harry Emerson Fosdick's very positive review of the newly published Big Book "stirred an interest in Dr. George A. Little, D.D., then a fifty-six year old Minister of the United Church of Toronto. Dr. Little had been a caring man who had unsuccessfully attempted to help alcoholics gain sobriety. Fosdick's review led him first to make copies of the book, then to order a personal copy of the Big Book for himself. Having read the book, he began in earnest mimeographing portions of it which he distributed to anyone he felt could further the cause or more importantly, to those he felt might be helped themselves. With his good intentions and tireless effort, people started to want more, and as a result, he ordered five copies of the Big Book in June, 1941. As an enthusiastic supporter of A.A., Dr. Little continued to be the alcoholics' friend - so much so that he enrolled at the Yale University School of Alcoholic Studies from which he graduated in 1941." FOR A COPY OF GEORGE LITTLE'S ARTICLE ON GOD IN A.A., which is well worth reading, see: See http://www.barefootsworld.net/aagodconcept.html THE GOD CONCEPT IN ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS From Religion in Life, Vol. 18(1): 25-33, 1948 By Rev. George A. Little, D.D. Little's article is a really excellent summary of what most early A.A.'s believed about God. It is completely in line with what the Big Book says, and may be helpful to modern folks in reading and understanding the Big Book.
supportive of the position held by Harry Emerson Fosdick, who taught at Union Theological Seminary in New York City along with Reinhold Niebuhr. Fosdick was famous all across the country because of a sermon he wrote entitled "Shall the Fundamentalists Win?"
position held by most early A.A. people. This was also the underlying position held by the people who edited The Upper Room (the chief A.A. meditational book from 1935 to 1948).
Win?" may be found in a number of places online, including:
ntal\
http://books.google.com/books?id=2bRx12uApGIC&pg=PA243&lpg=PA243&dq=%22Harry +Eme\
4C-&\
_res\
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII ++++Message 5858. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: First AA group Maine, Maryland, WV, Iowa, Minn., Fla. From: Lee Nickerson . . . . . . . . . . . . 7/10/2009 8:14:00 PM
Iowa, Minnesota, and Florida The first continuous meeting in Maine was in 1946. It met in Bangor over a garage. There is very little information on it but on January 11th, 1947; a group registered with New York as the Bangor Group. The oldtimers who I have talked to claimed that it was a new group, not an offspring of the garage group. Anyway, the oldest registered Group in Maine is The Portland Group, which registered with New York on January 7th, 1947 - four days before the Bangor Group.
Lee N. - - - - From: Rick Benchoff Baltimore, Maryland: what later came to be called the 857 Group first met on June 16, 1940. Additional info: Jimmy Burwell was in attendance at this meeting in addition to four Baltimore area men. Rick B. Hagerstown, Maryland Member of the Hagerstown Group (founded in September 1946) - - - - From: Richard H Here you go from Area 73, West Virginia. First AA Group registered with New York was in Charleston, WV on March 1, 1942.
Richard Humway Area 73 Archivist
(jeanfid at gmail.com) Patrick Cronin's dry date was November 11, 1940; he was visited by Chan Forman (a former Minnesotan) and Bill Long from Chicago AA. The Armistice Day blizzard kept them here in Minneapolis long enough to help Cronin stay sober and hear the message. In April of 1941 Pat got two rooms (which quickly spread to five rooms) and a telephone at 200 East Franklin so as to organize a group.
Minneapolis on October 26, 1941. Eventually the club was moved to the Washburn House at 2218 1st Ave So, now lovingly known as the Cronin house.
in here.
From: Lynn Sawyer (sawyer7952 at yahoo.com) Dear fellow HistoryLovers, Yes, I CERTAINLY DO remember '2218', as it was also lovingly called!! Went to many a mtg. there, and had a few meals there, too. (They sold sm. meals from the kitchen, which was next to a large mtg. room on the 1st floor. Thanks for letting me share! Lynn S. [Now] Sacramento, CA alcoholic
(firsthings1st at yahoo.com) Florida history: December 1940, Commander Junius Cotten met at the Jacksonville Naval Air Station with Thomas Sharpe.
From: samuelmfrost . . . . . . . . . . . . 7/11/2009 12:43:00 AM IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII While researching, I keep coming across references to "24 Magazine." Can anyone help guide me to any links or sites for this?
circulation? Sam F. - - - - From G.C. the moderator: Ernest Kurtz, Not-God, Appendix A, p. 234, speaks of <<... the "Survivors Program" promoted by "The Church of the Way" through its treatment program, East Ridge, and its literature, 24 Magazine and the book, The Answer to Addiction.>> THE BOOK: "The Answer To Addiction: Why addiction is so great a problem today and why the only answer is a spiritual one," by John Burns and three other recovered alcoholics [pseudonym for Tom Powers], 1st edit. (New York: Harper & Brothers, 1975. EAST RIDGE: http://www.alladdictsanonymous.org/ talks about East Ridge.
The 24 Newsletter seems to be the form the magazine is now taking, see http://www.alladdictsanonymous.org/products.htm To read current issues of the newsletter/magazine, go to http://www.24-communications.com/ FOR MORE INFORMATION SEE: AAHL Message 5082 From Matt D. (mdingle76 at yahoo.com) http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/AAHistoryLovers/message/5082
history resource — 24 Newsletter. 24 Newsletter is a current version of the 24 Magazine. 24 Magazine was probably best known for the article, "Gresham's Law and Alcoholics Anonymous." The author of this article is Tom P. Jr. Tom P. Jr. is the publisher of 24 Newsletter and contributes an article about AA each month.
http://www.24-communications.com/062008/062008.pdf For an example of little bits of AA history -- in June's newsletter Tom Jr. gives the name of the hymn Marty Mann used to describe her spiritual experience to Dr. Tiebout which was, "Leaning on the Everlasting Arms."
(AA 1939) -- in which Bill W. called, "One of the greatest stories to come out of AA" -- and is an actual transcript of Bill telling about Dr. Tom M. Dr. Tom got the AA Big Book in 1939 while a patient at Lexington Hospital for drug addicts. Tom M. wrote to AA, got sober, started one of the first groups to communicate with headquarters by mail, and more. To sign up for a free version of this newsletter email: alladdictsanonymous@gmail.com (alladdictsanonymous at gmail.com) Please specify if you would like this resource mailed to your home (and in such case give us your mailing address) or if just the online version. Either way this resource is free!
Australia From: jenny andrews . . . . . . . . . . . . 7/11/2009 2:38:00 AM
followed by Manchester in December 1948 Scotland: Glasgow and Edinburgh 1949 Wales: Cardiff 1951 Laurie A. - - - - From: "John R Reid" (jre33756 at bigpond.net.au) Australia :- First Country Outside of Northern America (USA and Canada) !!! First Group 1945, first Big Book received in Australia 1942. Ron C. can give accurate dates for Australia and its States. IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII ++++Message 5862. . . . . . . . . . . . First AA groups: Alberta, Nova Scotia
From: Jim Lalonde . . . . . . . . . . . . 7/11/2009 5:47:00 PM IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII The first meeting of AA in Edmonton Alberta Canada was held in Edmonton in room 326 of the Hotel MacDonald, a historic landmark that is still fully operating as a hotel. There were 5 members present. Minutes of that first meeting are on Hotel MacDonald letterhead. Jim L. aka Nugget - - - - From the moderator: Jim, do you have a date for Edmonton? - - - - From: "Norm The Tinman" (normtinman@yahoo.com) First meeting in Nova Scotia was in a town called New Glasgow, on Jan 2,1946 -- started by a guy by the name of Fred P. who got sober in New Orleans and when home for Christmas to visit his folks, started a group that was and still is called the HOW Group -- Honesty, Openmindness, Willingness -- there was an article in the local newspaper on Jan 3, 1946 wishing this meeting well.
From: Glenn Chesnut . . . . . . . . . . . . 7/12/2009 1:59:00 PM IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII From: "John Barton" (jax760 at yahoo.com) TIMELINE OF THE FIRST 25 A.A. GROUPS By John B. Big Book Study Group of South Orange, NJ
2. New York City (Fall of 1935) 3. Ohio: Cleveland - Abby G. Group (May 11, 1939) 4. New Jersey: The New Jersey Group (May 14, 1939) 5. Connecticut: Greenwich Blythewood Sanitarium (June 16, 1939) 6. Illinois: Chicago (September 13, 1939) 7. Ohio: Cleveland Borton Group (November 16, 1939) 8. Ohio: Cleveland Orchard Grove (November 20, 1939) 9. Washington, D.C. (December 1939) 10. California: San Francisco (December 1939) 11. California: Los Angeles (December 19, 1939) 12. New York: Orangeberg - Rockland State Hospital (December 1939) 13. Michigan: Detroit (December 1939) 14. Pennsylvania: Philadelphia (February 13, 1940) 15. Texas: Houston (March 15, 1940) 16. Arkansas: Little Rock (April 19, 1940) 17. Indiana: Evansville (April 23, 1940) 18. Ohio: Cleveland West 50th Street Group (May 8, 1940) 19. New Jersey: Camden (May 14, 1940) 20. Virginia: Richmond (June 6, 1940) 21. Maryland: Baltimore (June 16, 1940) 22. Ohio: Dayton (July 8, 1940) 23. Michigan: Coldwater (Summer 1940) 24. Ohio: Cleveland Berea (August 27, 1940) 25. Ohio: Cleveland Westlake (September 20, 1940)
January 1939 AABB The Original Manuscript April 10, 1939 AABB 1st Edition June 1953, 12 & 12 - AAWS 1955 AABB 2nd Edition 1957 AACOA AAWS 1980 DBGO AAWS 1984 PIO AAWS 1999 HIW Mitchell K. GSO Archives Notes related to the formation of the groups. A.A. Group # 1 Akron, Ohio "The spark that was to flare into the first A.A. group was struck at Akron, Ohio
in June 1935, during a talk between a New York stockbroker and an Akron physician." (AABB 2nd Edition, p.xv)
the
ward of the Akron City Hospital. Their very first case, a desperate one, recovered immediately and became A.A. number three." (AABB 2nd Edition, p.xvii)
the
Pioneer Section. This resulted in A.A.'s first group, at Akron, Ohio, in 1935.
(AABB 2nd Edition p.156) "Before our visit was over, Bill suddenly turned to his wife and said, "Go fetch
my clothes, dear. We're going to get up and get out of here." Bill D. walked out
of that hospital a free man never to drink again. A.A.'s Number One Group dates
from that very day." - Bill W. (AAB 2nd Edition p.189) "He came out of the hospital on the Fourth of July, 1935." (DBGO p.85) Author’s Comments: If you read the Original Manuscript of the Book Alcoholics Anonymous, it becomes abundantly clear in Chapter 11, "A Vision for You" that the "Fellowship" of Alcoholics Anonymous was alive and growing in January of 1939. "Then, in this eastern city there are informal meetings such as we have described to you, where you may see thirty or forty, there are the same fast friendships, there is the same helpfulness to one another as you find among our western friends. There is a good bit of travel between East and West and we foresee a great increase in this helpful interchange. Some day we hope that every alcoholic who journeys will find a Fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous at his destination. To some extent this is already true."
(BBOM p.130) The first 100, obviously considered themselves part of the A.A. fellowship whether or not they were specifically calling their "informal meetings" A.A., OG, Drunk Squadrons, etc. We think any debates whether the eastern and western cities mentioned are or are not the first "A.A." groups are pointless. Bill Wilson and Bob Smith obviously considered their respective groups to be #’s 1 &
2 and that should set the standard by which we apply our analysis. The anniversary date for Akron Group # 1 seems questionable. Bill however, tagged it as the day that Bill Dotson was discharged from the hospital. DBGO says this was July 4, 1935. Akron Intergroup advises that they go by the July
4th date. A.A. Group # 2 Brooklyn, New York A second small group promptly took shape at New York ... (AABB 2nd Edition, p.xvii)
home on Clinton Street. (PIO p.162) "…At this juncture, the meeting -- the first meeting of the Manhattan Group,
which really took place in Brooklyn -- stopped, and it stopped for a very good
reason. That was that the landlord set Lois and me out into the street, and we didn't even have money to move our stuff into storage. Even that and the moving van -- that was done on the cuff. Well, it was then the spring of 1939. Temporarily, the Manhattan Group moved to Jersey. It hadn't got to Manhattan yet...
folks over here started a meeting in Bert T.'s tailor shop. Good old Bert is the
guy who hocked his then-failing business to save the book Alcoholics Anonymous in 1939. In the fall, he still had the shop, and we began to hold meetings there. Little by little, things began to grow. We went from there to a room in Steinway Hall, and we felt we were in very classic and good company that gave us an aura of respectability. Finally, some of the boys -- notably Bert and Horace -- said, "A.A. should have a home. We really ought to have a club." And so the old 24th Street Club, which had belonged to the artists and illustrators and before that was a barn going back to Revolutionary times, was taken over. I think Bert and Horace signed the first lease."("The Road from the Table on Clinton Street": Bill Wilson's Talk to the Manhattan Group, NYC, 1955)
Bill &
Lois Wilson Road Show." After being evicted from 182 Clinton Street the New York
contingent met everywhere and anywhere over the next several months. Including Montclair, NJ, South Orange, NJ, Green Pond in NJ, Flatbush in Brooklyn, Bert
Taylor’s Shop, Bert Taylor’s Loft, an apartment on West 72nd Street, Blythewood, Steinway Hall, Rockland State Hospital, and finally the 24th Street Clubhouse. (See PIO p.216-217) Based on Lois’s comments, Pass It On describes these as "At
least a dozen A.A. groups had evolved in the New York Metropolitan area..." Unfortunately, this passage is misleading. We can see that this was actually a dozen different meeting locations for the same group of 30 – 40 alcoholics. This is clarified in Bill’s talk to the Manhattan Group in 1955. The previous paragraph in Pass It On explains it better when it says: "When they lived at Clinton Street, A.A. meetings had been held there. A.A. followed Bill and Lois wherever they went." The New Jersey "contingent" split off from the New York Group and remained in New Jersey when the Montclair meeting ended in mid June of 39. The NY contingent crossed the river back to Manhattan and the Jerseyites began meeting in South Orange at the home of Herb Debevoise continuing what had been started in Montclair. A.A. Group # 3 Cleveland, Ohio On May 11, 1939, one month after the book had been published, a meeting was held. It was a meeting of "Alcoholics Anonymous." It was a meeting held by, and for alcoholics and their families only. Historian, Mary C. Darrah, wrote: "In the years 1935-1939, the Oxford meetings provided a group experience for the early alcoholics. A.A. did not meet as a separate group officially named Alcoholics Anonymous until May 1939 at the home of Abby G. in Cleveland." (HIW p.141) A.A. Group # 4 The New Jersey Group Lois’s diary entry for May 14, 1939 indicates they went to the meeting at the
Yüklə 11,49 Mb. Dostları ilə paylaş:
|