Aa history Lovers 2010 moderators Nancy Olson and Glenn F. Chesnut page
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the phrase "Interior of the 24th Street Clubhouse, New York City" under the photo. But it is not clear that the photo which is posted on the timeline was actually taken back in 1940. Can anyone provide the date when the photo was taken? - - - - From: "Robert Stonebraker" (rstonebraker212 at comcast.net) In effort to interest members in AA history, our local clubhouse has hung large
oil paintings of Bill & Bob, also fifteen 8" x 10" photos of the well known early movers and shakers of the 1930s and 1940s era. Bob S., Richmond, IN IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII ++++Message 6346. . . . . . . . . . . . Big Book Study Guide by Ken W. From: Woodstock Singh . . . . . . . . . . . . 2/19/2010 12:49:00 PM IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII I found this work a few years ago. It is easy to find in Google search. The author claims membership in AA beyond 50 years.
the living?
information -- beyond what can already be found by a Google search -- about the author's background and how this work was written? Jim S. Pensacola, FL ______ Ken W., Study Guide to the AA Big Book "A SPIRITUAL VIEW BEYOND THE LIMITS OF TRADITIONAL RELIGION" IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII ++++Message 6347. . . . . . . . . . . . Commemorative Little Red Book From: Tom Hickcox . . . . . . . . . . . . 2/19/2010 3:52:00 PM IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII Hazelden published a special edition of the Little Red Book in 1996 to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of its initial publication in 1946. It was supposed to be a more or less exact copy of the first printing but somehow was copied from the 1949 printing, the unstated fifth printing. I don't know how that happened, but I'm sure it is a good story. I noticed some time back that there are at least two versions of the commemorative edition, the difference being the wording of Step 12. One has "Having had a spiritual experience as the result . . ." as was in the original LRB [and the original Big Book] up until the 12th Printing. The other version has the current wording "Having had a spiritual awakening as the result . . ." I am aware that Webster did not use the exact wording of the Steps in the early printings of the LRB. The early printings have ". . . God as we understand Him" in Step 3 and sometimes in Step 11. This perhaps is carryover from pamphlets, but I'm not interested in that here. It will have to wait until later.
I came across another Commemorative Edition this week and it has awakening. A friend was sent twenty copies of the book when it came out by Bill Pittman who inscribed one of them to him. He tells me that book has "experience" which indicates that the initial press run had that.
and possibly also the relative abundance of each. I plan on listing all the variations of the Coll-Webb printings of the LRB unless there is a list already available. Tommy H in Baton Rouge IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII ++++Message 6348. . . . . . . . . . . . Early AA beginners lessons From: Glenn Chesnut . . . . . . . . . . . . 2/21/2010 3:39:00 PM IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII EARLY AA BEGINNERS LESSONS History of the Beginners Classes: a Speech by Wally P. Initial growth in Alcoholics Anonymous took place in Cleveland, Ohio. Clarence
S. and the guys went out actively pursuing drunks and brought them off bar stools and street corners. We don't do that today, but we were doing it back then [late 1930's and 1940's]. And it worked!
were
from Cleveland. The book 'AA Comes of Age' talks about it on pages 20 and 21:
"It was soon evident that a scheme of personal sponsorship would have to be devised for the new people. Each prospect was assigned an older AA, who visited him at his home or in the hospital, instructed him on AA principles, and conducted him to his first meeting." So even back in the early days the sponsor
was taking the sponsee to meetings and getting together with him, rather than
having the sponsee track the sponsor down. 'AA Comes of Age' continues by saying, "But in the face of many hundreds of pleas for help, the supply of elders could not possibly match the demand. Brand-new AA's, sober only a month
or even a week, had to sponsor alcoholics still drying up in hospitals." Because of this rapid growth in Cleveland, the idea of formalized classes started. In the book 'Dr. Bob and the Good Old-timers' it states on page 261, "Yes, Cleveland's results were the best. Their results were in fact so good that many a Clevelander really though AA had started there in the first place." Over half of the fellowship was from Cleveland up and through the mid-1940s. During the winter of 1941 the Crawford Group (founded in February 1941) organized a separate group to help newcomers through the Steps. By the first issue of the Cleveland Central Bulletin, October 1942, the Crawford "Beginners' Class" was listed as a separate meeting. And in the second issue, in November
1942, there was an article entitled "Crawford Men's Training." This refers to possibly the first "Beginners' Class." "The Crawford Men's Training System has been highly acclaimed to many. Old AA's are asked to come to these meetings with or without new prospects, where new prospects will be given individual attention just as though they were in a hospital. Visiting a prospect in his home has always been handicapped by interruptions. But the prospect not daring to unburden himself completely for fear of being overheard by his relatives and by the AA's reticence for the same reason. Hospitalization without question is the ideal answer to where the message will be most effective; but the Crawford training plan strikes us as being the next best."
to treatment. That was one of the early questions -- could a person get sober without going to a three or five-day detox. Because it was during that detox that sometimes ten and twenty AA members came to visit the new person. And each hour the prospect was awake he would hear someone's story -- over and over again. And something gelled during these hospital stays. But they were trying to do it outside of the hospital and this is where the first of the classes came
from. These classes continued at Euclid Avenue Meeting Hall through June 1943 and at that time the Central Bulletin announced a second session -- "The Miles Training Meeting." The bulletin read, "The Miles Group reports they have enjoyed unusual success with their training meetings. The newcomer is not permitted to attend a regular AA meeting until he has been given a thorough knowledge of the work." The newcomer couldn't go to a meeting until he completed the training session. A lot of places didn't allow you to go to AA meetings until you had taken the four classes. You didn't just sit there -- you had already completed the steps when you went to your first AA meeting. "From 15 to 20 participate at each training meeting and new members are thoroughly indoctrinated." These meetings grew and spread and visitors came from out of town and out of state.
into four sessions. "In June 1943 a group of members proposed the idea of a separate discussion meeting to more advantageously present the Twelve Steps of the recovery program to the new affiliates. The decision was made to hold a Closed
Meeting for alcoholics only for this purpose. The first discussion meeting of the Northwest Group was held on Monday night June 14, 1943 and has been held every Monday night without exception thereafter (as of 1948). A plan of presentation of the Twelve Steps of the recovery program was developed at this meeting. The plan consisted of dividing the Twelve Steps into four categories for easier study." The divisions were: 1. The Admission 2. Spiritual 3. Restitution and Inventory 4. Working and the message "Each division came to be discussed on each succeeding Monday night in rotation
This method was so successful that it was adopted first by other groups in Detroit and then throughout the United States. Finally the format was published in its entirety by the Washington, DC Group in a pamphlet entitled 'An interpretation of our Twelve Steps." The first pamphlet was published in 1944 and contains the following introduction: "Meetings are held for the purpose of aquatinting both the old and new members with the Twelve
Steps on which our Program is based. So that all Twelve Steps may be covered in a minimum of time they are divided into four classifications. One evening each week will be devoted to each of the four subdivisions. Thus, in one month a new man can get the bases of our Twelve Suggested Steps." This pamphlet was reproduced many times in Washington, DC and then throughout the country and is even still being printed in some areas today. In the Fall of 1944, a copy of the Washington, DC pamphlet reached Barry C. -- one of the AA pioneers in Minneapolis. He wrote a letter to the New York headquarters requesting permission to distribute the pamphlet. We talk about "Conference Approved Literature" today; but this is the way the Fellowship operated back then. This is a letter from Bobby B., Bill W.'s secretary, printed
on "Alcoholic Foundation" stationary. This is what she says: "The Washington pamphlet, like the new Cleveland one, and a host of others, are
all local projects. We do not actually approve or disapprove these local pieces.
By that I mean the Foundation feels that each group is entitled to write up their own 'can opener' and to let it stand on it's own merits. All of them have their good points and very few have caused any controversy. But in all things of a local nature we keep hands off -- either pro or con. Frankly, I haven't had the time to more than glance at the Washington booklet, but I've heard some favorable comments about it. I think there must be at least 25 local pamphlets now being used and I've yet to see one that hasn't some good points."
Classes." The first one was published in June and it described how the classes were conducted in St. Louis, Missouri. This has to do with the "education plan" and they called it the Wilson Club. "One of the four St. Louis AA groups is now using a very satisfactory method of educating prospects and new members. It has done much to reduce the number of 'slippers' among new members. In brief it is somewhat as follows: Each new prospect is asked to attend four successive Thursday night meetings. Each one of which is devoted to helping the new man learn something about Alcoholics Anonymous, it's founding and the way it works. The new man is told something about the book and how this particular group functions. Wilson Club members are not considered full active members of AA until they've attended these four educational meetings." In the September 1945 issue of the Grapevine the Geniuses Group in Rochester, NY explained their format for taking newcomers through the Steps. The title of the
article was "Rochester Prepares Novices for Group Participation." This is how
they perceived the recovery process to operate most efficiently: "It has been
our observation that bringing men [and woman] into the group indiscriminately and without adequate preliminary training and information can be a source of considerable grief and a cause of great harm to the general moral of the group itself. We feel that unless a man, after a course of instruction and an intelligent presentation of the case for the AA life, has accepted it without
any reservation he should not be included in group membership. When the sponsors
feel that a novice has a fair working knowledge of AA's objectives and sufficient grasp of it's fundamentals then he is brought to his first group meeting. Then he listens to four successive talks based on the Twelve Steps and
Four Absolutes. They are twenty-minute talks given by the older members of the
group and the Steps for convenience and brevity are divided into four sections. The first three Steps constitute the text of the first talk; the next four the
second; the next four the third; and the last Step is considered to be entitled
a full evening's discussion by itself." This group taught the Steps in order rather than in segments. In December 1945, the St. Paul, Minnesota Group wrote a full-page description of the "Beginners' Meetings." The description of their four one-hour classes was:
"New members are urged to attend all the sessions in the proper order. At every
meeting the three objectives of AA are kept before the group: to obtain and to recover from those things which caused us to drink and to help others who want what we have." In 1945 Barry C., of Minneapolis, received a letter from one of the members from
the Peoria, Illinois Group. In the letter, the writer, Bud, describes the efforts of Peoria, Illinois in regarding the "Beginners' Classes." "In my usual slow and cautious matter I proceeded to sell the Peoria Group on the Nicollet Group. Tomorrow night we all meet to vote the adoption of our bylaws slightly altered to fit local conditions." (No one taught the classes the same way. They were taught based on a group conscience.) "Sunday afternoon at 4:30 our first class in the Twelve Steps begins. We're all attending the first series of classes so we'll all be on an even footing. We anticipate on losing some fare-weather AA hangers-on in the elimination automatically imposed by the rule that these classes must be attended. This elimination we anticipate with a "we" feeling of suppressed pleasure. It is much as we are all extremely fed up with running a free drunk taxi and sobering-up service." Then sometime prior to 1946 in Akron, Ohio the Akron Group started publishing four pamphlets on the AA Program. They were written by Ed W. [**see note at the
end**] at the direction of Dr. Bob, one of the co-founders of AA. Dr. Bob wanted
some "blue-collar" pamphlets for the Fellowship. In one of the pamphlets, "A Guide to the Twelve Steps", it reads: "A Guide to the Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous is intended to be a simple, short and concise interpretation of the rules for sober living as compiled by the earliest members of the organization. The writers and editors are members of the Akron, Ohio Group where Alcoholics Anonymous was founded in 1935. Most of the ideas and explanations were brought out in a series of instruction classes conducted by veteran members of the group." So this proves the classes were being taught in Akron, Ohio. There are a lot of places they were being taught. Then the classes were actually formalized into a book called "The Little Red Book" in 1946. The inscription on the inside cover says, "The material in this Little Red Book is an outgrowth of a series of notes originally prepared for Twelve Step instruction to AA beginners." So we know the "Little Red Book" came
out of these four one-hour classes also. "Few books have had greater record for
humble service than the Little Red Book upon which so many members have cut their AA teeth." A manuscript drawn up from these notes was sent to Dr. Bob at the request of USA and Canadian members. He approved the manuscript and the book was published in 1946. Dr. Bob approved of "The Little Red Book." So Dr. Bob not only authorized the publication of the Akron pamphlets, he also endorsed "The Little Red Book," both of which were products of the "Beginners' Classes." Even our first AA group handbook, originally entitled "A Handbook for the Secretary", published by the Alcoholic Foundation in 1950, had a section on the "Beginners' Classes." At the time there were only three types of meetings: Open Speaker Meetings, Closed Discussion Meetings, and Beginners' Meetings. There was no such thing as an Open Discussion Meeting in the early days of Alcoholics Anonymous. In the Beginners' Meetings, which are described in the Meeting section, the handbook
states: "In larger metropolitan areas a special type of meeting for newcomers to AA is proved extremely successful. Usually staged for a half-hour prior to an open meeting, this meeting features an interpretation of AA usually by an older member presented in terms designed to make the program clear to the new member.
to their Open Meeting. When publishing the group handbook, the New York office only described Chicago's format.) After the speaker's presentation the meeting is thrown open to questions." In each of the four one-hour classes there was always a session for questions afterwards. "Occasionally, the AA story is presented by more than one speaker.
The emphasis remains exclusively on the newcomer and his problem." The four one-hour classes were taught all over the country. Some other cities
include Oklahoma City, Miami Florida, and Phoenix Arizona. If these classes were so important, then what happened to them? Most of the people who have joined AA in the last twenty-five years or so have never even heard of them. Ruth R., an old-timer in Miami Florida, who came into AA in 1953, gave some insight into the demise of the "Beginners' Classes." "At that time the classes were being conducted at the Alana Club in Miami -- two books were used: "Alcoholics Anonymous" (Big Book) and the "Little Red Book." Jim and Dora H., Florida AA pioneers, were enthusiastic supporters and they helped organize several of the classes and served as instructors." (Note: Dora was a Panel 7 Delegate to the General Service Office.) Ruth recalled that the classes were discontinued in the mid-1950s as the result of the publication of the book "Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions" by Alcoholics Anonymous Publishing Inc. In the Miami area the "Twelve and Twelve" replaced both the "Big Book" and the "Little Red Book" and "Step Studies" replaced the "Beginners' Classes." In the
process, the period for taking the Steps was expanded and modified from 4 weeks
to somewhere in between 12 and 16 weeks. The Fourth Step inventory was modified
and became a much more laborious and detailed procedure. What was originally conceived as a very simple program, which took a few hours to complete, evolved into a complicated and confusing undertaking requiring several months. Studying the Steps is not the same as taking the Steps. In the "Beginners' Classes" you take the steps. The Big Book says, "Here are the steps we took" not "here are the steps we read and talked about." The AA pioneers proved that action, not knowledge, produced the spiritual awakening that resulted in recovery from alcoholism. On page 88, the authors of the Big Book wrote, "It works -- it really does. We alcoholics are undisciplined. So we let God discipline us in the simple way we have just outlined. But this is not all. There is action and more action. Faith without works is dead."
talk in Mesa, Arizona on November 23, 1996. Wally P. is an AA Archivist from Tucson, Arizona. For two years he researched and studied areas of the country
that held "Beginners' Classes." He then started teaching the classes under the
guidance of his sponsor who took the classes in 1953 and never drank again. In March of 1996 Wally mentioned the "Beginners' Classes" as part of his historical presentation at the Wilson House in East Dorset, Vermont. Wally then wrote and published a book entitled "Back to Basics: The Alcoholics Anonymous Beginners' Classes -- Take all 12 Steps in Four One-Hour Sessions." ________________________________________
-wal\
See also AAHistoryLovers Message 1627 from Bill Lash for another copy of this
talk: http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/AAHistoryLovers/message/1627 ________________________________________ **THE AUTHOR OF THE AKRON PAMPHLETS** Perhaps not Ed W., but Evan W. or Irvin W. See Message #2469 from jayaa82@aol.com http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/AAHistoryLovers/message/2469 "The Akron Pamphlets were commissioned by Dr. Bob but written by Evan W. an Akron member who had been a newspaper writer. Dr. Bob believed that the Big Book might be too complicated for the "blue collar" member or others with little education. The pamphlets are still printed and distributed by the Akron Intergroup. Jay M." But see First 226 Members Akron, OH AA Group http://hindsfoot.org/akrn226.doc There is no "Ed W." on that list, but there is no "Evan W." mentioned either.
Could "Evan W." be the man referred to as Irvin Whiteman in that list? The names
Irvin, Irwin, and so on, were regularly confused in the AA oral tradition -- see
for example all the different spellings of Irwin Meyerson's name. IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII ++++Message 6349. . . . . . . . . . . . Rockhill Recording: A Talk With Bill From: BobR . . . . . . . . . . . . 2/21/2010 4:15:00 PM IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII About a year ago, our Archives here in Suffolk County, New York received a record, Alcoholics Anonymous A Talk With Bill disc 2. We have transferred it to CD. Although we have disc 2, it seems to cut off and two of us are wondering if there is more to it. Is there a recording of disc 1 out there somewhere so we can fill in the missing pieces? This recording comes from 1947. Is there any kind of copyright on it still in effect? IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII ++++Message 6350. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: Bridge of Reason From: corafinch . . . . . . . . . . . . 2/19/2010 6:40:00 PM IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII I couldn't seem to find the Maimonides reference (although Maimonides is known
for bridging science and faith), and the sense in which Spengler used the phrase
did not seem to expand on the Big Book meaning. This passage from Systematic Theology (1886) by Augustus Hopkins Strong is somewhat interesting. It is part of a footnote on pp 87-8. Strong has been discussing the various "proofs" for the existence of God: "The three forms of proof already mentioned, Cosmological, Teleological and Anthropological may be likened to the three arches of a bridge over a wide and rushing river. The bridge has only two defects but these defects are very serious. First is that one cannot get on the bridge; the end toward the outer
bank is wholly lacking; the bridge of logical argument cannot be entered upon
except by assuming the validity of logical processes; this assumption takes for
granted at the outset the existence of a God who has made our faculties to act
correctly; we get on the bridge, not by logical processes but only by a leap of intuition; and by assuming at the beginning the very thing which we set out to prove. The second deficiency of the so-called bridge of argument is that when one has gotten on he can never get off. The connection with the further bank is also lacking. All the premises from which we argue being finite, we are warranted in drawing only a finite conclusion. Argument cannot reach the Infinite, and only an infinite being can be called God. "We can get off from our logical bridge not by logical process but only by another and final leap of intuition and by once more assuming the existence of the infinite Being we had so vainly sought to reach by mere argument. The process seems to be referred to in Job 11:7, 'Canst though by searching find out
God? Canst thou find out the almighty unto perfection?'" I'm not implying the the Big Book authors were reading this book, but the allegory seems similar, and may have made it to them by way of sermons or lectures.
> > The Bridge of Reason occurs in [Moses] Maimonides, eight hundred (or so) years ago, and was picked up by Spengler in his magnum opus, The Decline of the West, greatly publicized in the 1930s. I'm not sure if "the Bridge of Reason leads to the Shore of Faith" is itself in Maimonides, but that's generally where the Bridge has been deemed to lead. My guess is any Big Book use comes from Maimonides through Spengler -- unless it's also in Lewis Browne, the one Jewish religious writer we know Bill read. > IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII ++++Message 6351. . . . . . . . . . . . Father Ralph Pfau-San Juan Batista-Calif From: russmuller@sbcglobal.net . . . . . . . . . . . . 2/20/2010 9:35:00 PM
a retreat that was held annually by Father Ralph Pfau (1947) I think it started in San Juan Batista, CA.
attended in years past who can tell a story or two!!! If you have ever attended this retreat and have a story to tell, big or small, please pass it on!
from Santa Cruz, California, was the Group Leader for many years.
(russmuller at sbcglobal.net) IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII ++++Message 6352. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: Big Book Study Guide by Ken W. From: Cherie'' H. . . . . . . . . . . . . 2/21/2010 11:36:00 PM IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII A few years ago I was in direct email communication with Ken. He was a member of AAFriendsWorldWide online AA group for some time. That is where I met him. He has also been a member of other online AA groups.
been some time since I was in contact with him. Perhaps he is reading this and might respond? -- AA Love and Hugs Cherie' Warren, MI DOS 04/26/01 IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII ++++Message 6353. . . . . . . . . . . . Two AA History Presentations From: Bill Lash . . . . . . . . . . . . 2/23/2010 8:29:00 AM IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII The Primary Purpose Group of Lynbrook NY presents: An AA History Presentation with 250 Pictures of Early AA with Barefoot Bill from West Milford NJ Saturday, March 13, 2010, 1:00PM – 5:00PM Lynbrook Baptist Church 225 Earle Avenue, Lynbrook, NY 11563 Meeting place of the Primary Purpose Group of Lynbrook NY. Pictures of the Washingtonians, Frank Buchman, Rowland Hazard, Cebra Graves, Ebby T., Bill & Lois W., Bill W.'s parents & grandparents, Lois W.'s parents, Dr. Bob & family, all the OH/VT places, Henrietta Seiberling, Bill D., Ernie G., Clarence S., Sister Ignatia, all the N.Y./N.J. places, Charlie Towns & Dr. Silkworth, Hank P., when the early literature was published, the Rockefeller dinner, gravesites, etc. It's very exciting, combining the stories with the images!! Liberal refreshments will be provided. For more information please visit www.ppglynbrook.net or call Derrick at 516-317-9237. For the flyer go to www.justloveaudio.com & click on "Events". ********** ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS HISTORY WEEKEND III “THE OXFORD GROUP ROOTS OF A.A.” with Jay S. from Redondo Beach CA and Barefoot Bill from West Milford NJ August 20 – 22, 2010 At The Wilson House (where Bill W. was born) 378 Village Street East Dorset, VT 05253
– “The Early Roots of A.A.: The Akron Miracle”, “Varieties of Spiritual Experience: James, Jung, Shoemaker & You”, and “What Ever Happened to the
Oxford Group?”. Barefoot Bill has been studying and collecting AA history since 1994. He will be doing a presentation on “Bill W. & Dr. Bob’s Oxford Group Experience” and another one on “Oxford Group Meditation – How To Listen To God”.
Friday night 8/20/10 9:00 to 10:45pm – Oxford Group (Moral Re-Armament) movie Saturday morning 8/21/10 9:00 to 10:20am – The Early Roots of A.A.: The Akron Miracle Saturday morning 8/21/10 10:40 to 11:55am – Bill W. & Dr. Bob’s Oxford Group Experience Saturday afternoon 8/21/10 1:00 to 2:20pm – Varieties of Spiritual Experience: James, Jung, Shoemaker & You Saturday night 8/21/10 9:00 to 10:45pm – Oxford Group (Moral Re-Armament) movie Sunday morning 8/22/10 9:00 to 10:20am – Oxford Group Meditation: How To Listen To God Sunday morning 8/22/10 10:40 to 11:55am – What Ever Happened to the Oxford Group?
802-362-5524. For more information please call Barefoot Bill at 201-232-8749 (cell). Audio CD’s of this event provided by Just Love Audio. For the flyer go to www.justloveaudio.com & click on "Events".
Bill
From: Charles Knapp . . . . . . . . . . . . 2/22/2010 1:58:00 AM IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII Hello Group, I believe I have some history on these records. A few years ago, I purchased an audio CD of what was being titled "Bill W.'s 1st Recorded Talk." It said the talk was made in 1947, but gave no other information. When I
listened to it I heard a quote that I recognized. The quote was: "Perhaps this is not the place to talk at length of my own recovery, of our A.A.
program in detail, or of our astounding growth. This room is filled with fellow
alcoholics who know and practice the A.A. way of life as well as I. The accomplishments of Alcoholics Anonymous are headlined in the press of the world. So I shall be content if I can remind myself, and any who would hear that Alcoholics Anonymous is not, after all, a personal success story. It is instead,
the story of our colossal human failures now converted into the happiest kind of
usefulness by that divine alchemy -- the living grace of God." I remember this from the 2005 International Convention in Toronto because I saw this quote on one of the GSO Archives displays panels. Also from that CD I recognized the talk Bill was giving was copied from a phonograph record. In October 2006 while in New York doing some research at the GSO Archives, I was able to piece together some history of this recording. At that time I was the Archivist for Area 9 in Southern Californian and I found that it had a Southern California connection other than just the location of his talk.
big
open meeting. After the meeting a member from Los Angeles, who was in the recording business, suggested to Bill that he should record his talks. This member offered to provide Bill and AA his recording services, for a small fee,
of course. Sometime during that weekend, Bill shortened his talk and he made a wire recording and this recording was pressed into a 16 inch record. Bill took the recording back to New York and found a record company there that would press records as needed. The member in Los Angeles wanted to press a couple hundred records at one time, but Bill thought this would put an unnecessary financial burden on the New York Office. Beside he didn't think they
would sell that many records. Bill found a company in New York, without ties to AA, called Rockhill Radio Company, on fiftith Street, that was willing to press one record at a time or as many at one time as need. This way the New York office would not have to fork out a lot of money all at once or keep track of any inventory. Bill even negotiated a deal where the New York office would take all the orders and handle the money from sales and this reduced the selling price of the records even more.
for.
However, in the file in New York where I found this information was a yellowed business card from Specialty Records, 2719 W 7th Street Los Angeles with the name "Art" handwritten on the back. After
some searching I found that Art Rupe started Specialty Records in LA in 1946,
but it is not clear if Art was the member that made the suggestion or just someone the AA member put Bill in touch with. In a letter to the group secretaries from the New York office dated May 6, 1947
it offers these records for sale for $3.30 including shipping. Not everyone had
a phonograph that could play 16 inch records so the talk was made on two 12 inch
records, having a playing time of about 15 minutes (15 minutes is a very short
talk for Bill). In this letter it stated that Bill was very reluctant on make any kind of records, but finally gave in. If anyone has a photo of these 2 records, I would love to have a copy for Area
9's file. hope this helps Charles from Wisconsin ________________________________ From: BobR To: AAHistoryLovers@yahoogroups.com Sent: Sun, February 21, 2010 3:15:40 PM Subject: Rockhill Recording: A Talk With Bill
County, New York received a record, Alcoholics Anonymous A Talk With Bill disc 2. We have transferred it to CD. Although we have disc 2, it seems to cut off and two of us are wondering if there is more to it. Is there a recording of disc 1 out there somewhere so we can fill in the missing pieces? This recording comes from 1947. Is there any kind of copyright on it still in effect? IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII ++++Message 6355. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: Rockhill Recording: A Talk With Bill
From: shakey . . . . . . . . . . . . 2/23/2010 9:39:00 PM IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII I own a red record called Milestones of Alcoholics Anonymous by Bill from Rockhill Recording with an address on the label of 10 east 50th street new york city. ELdorado5-1860. it is a 78 record. Shakey Mike Gwirtz Phila, PA
> > About a year ago, our Archives here in Suffolk > County, New York received a record, Alcoholics > Anonymous A Talk With Bill disc 2. We have > transferred it to CD. > > Although we have disc 2, it seems to cut off and > two of us are wondering if there is more to it. > Is there a recording of disc 1 out there somewhere > so we can fill in the missing pieces? > > This recording comes from 1947. Is there any > kind of copyright on it still in effect? >
++++Message 6356. . . . . . . . . . . . Documentary film request - Miami Convention 1970 From: bludahlia2003 . . . . . . . . . . . . 2/24/2010 5:47:00 PM
of help from AA historians and other archives, but at this point, we are actively looking for photos or home movies of the 1970 AA Convention, held at the Fountainebleau Hotel in Miami. Ideally, we'd love to have a shot of Bill W at the podium, giving his closing talk. However, any shots of the convention – signage, banners, a view from the back of the auditorium etc – would be very helpful. We are aware of and will be observing the 11th tradition. Thanks for any help you can give us. My e-mail address is (bludahlia2003 at yahoo.com) IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII ++++Message 6357. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: Re: Rockhill Recording: A Talk With Bill From: aalogsdon@aol.com . . . . . . . . . . . . 2/23/2010 6:37:00 PM
company titled MILESTONES OF ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS by Bill. The third recording appears to be same vintage, all are red. How can I help you. -----Original Message----- From: Charles Knapp To: AAHistoryLovers@yahoogroups.com Sent: Sun, Feb 21, 2010 10:58 pm Subject: [AAHistoryLovers] Re: Rockhill Recording: A Talk With Bill
purchased an audio CD of what was being titled "Bill W.'s 1st Recorded Talk." It said the talk was made in 1947, but gave no other information. When I
listened to it I heard a quote that I recognized. The quote was: "Perhaps this is not the place to talk at length of my own recovery, of our A.A.
program in detail, or of our astounding growth. This room is filled with fellow
alcoholics who know and practice the A.A. way of life as well as I. The accomplishments of Alcoholics Anonymous are headlined in the press of the world. So I shall be content if I can remind myself, and any who would hear that Alcoholics Anonymous is not, after all, a personal success story. It is instead,
the story of our colossal human failures now converted into the happiest kind of
usefulness by that divine alchemy -- the living grace of God." I remember this from the 2005 International Convention in Toronto because I saw this quote on one of the GSO Archives displays panels. Also from that CD I recognized the talk Bill was giving was copied from a phonograph record. In October 2006 while in New York doing some research at the GSO Archives, I was able to piece together some history of this recording. At that time I was the Archivist for Area 9 in Southern Californian and I found that it had a Southern California connection other than just the location of his talk.
big
open meeting. After the meeting a member from Los Angeles, who was in the recording business, suggested to Bill that he should record his talks. This member offered to provide Bill and AA his recording services, for a small fee,
of course. Sometime during that weekend, Bill shortened his talk and he made a wire recording and this recording was pressed into a 16 inch record. Bill took the recording back to New York and found a record company there that would press records as needed. The member in Los Angeles wanted to press a couple hundred records at one time, but Bill thought this would put an unnecessary financial burden on the New York Office. Beside he didn't think they
would sell that many records. Bill found a company in New York, without ties to AA, called Rockhill Radio Company, on fiftith Street, that was willing to press one record at a time or as many at one time as need. This way the New York office would not have to fork out a lot of money all at once or keep track of any inventory. Bill even negotiated a deal where the New York office would take all the orders and handle the money from sales and this reduced the selling price of the records even more.
for.
However, in the file in New York where I found this information was a yellowed business card from Specialty Records, 2719 W 7th Street Los Angeles with the name "Art" handwritten on the back. After
some searching I found that Art Rupe started Specialty Records in LA in 1946,
but it is not clear if Art was the member that made the suggestion or just someone the AA member put Bill in touch with. In a letter to the group secretaries from the New York office dated May 6, 1947
it offers these records for sale for $3.30 including shipping. Not everyone had
a phonograph that could play 16 inch records so the talk was made on two 12 inch
records, having a playing time of about 15 minutes (15 minutes is a very short
talk for Bill). In this letter it stated that Bill was very reluctant on make any kind of records, but finally gave in. If anyone has a photo of these 2 records, I would love to have a copy for Area
9's file. hope this helps Charles from Wisconsin ________________________________ From: BobR To: AAHistoryLovers@yahoogroups.com Sent: Sun, February 21, 2010 3:15:40 PM Subject: Rockhill Recording: A Talk With Bill
County, New York received a record, Alcoholics Anonymous A Talk With Bill disc 2. We have transferred it to CD. Although we have disc 2, it seems to cut off and two of us are wondering if there is more to it. Is there a recording of disc 1 out there somewhere so we can fill in the missing pieces? This recording comes from 1947. Is there any kind of copyright on it still in effect? [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII ++++Message 6358. . . . . . . . . . . . Author''s Notes in early Little Red Books, 1946 to 1953 From: Tom Hickcox . . . . . . . . . . . . 2/28/2010 9:16:00 PM
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