Aa history Lovers 2004 moderators Nancy Olson and Glenn F. Chesnut page

(1978)

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The theme of the Fifth World Service Meeting (1978) was 'Recovery, Unity,

Service - Worldwide.'' The keynote address on this theme by David P., delegate

from Columbia, was so brilliant it was not only acclaimed by his immediate

audience in Helsinki, Finland, it became a kind of minor classic as it was

reproduced and distributed widely in the Fellowship. It is reproduced in full

here:

of all our differences, we have something in common that binds us together

with strong ties. We have known the process of a painful sickness. We have

achieved, by the grace of God, a recovery which now allows us to live and to

love again. We are involved in the spirit of unity that gives us strength. We

are impelled by a desire to give service. We are the inheritors of the

Legacies of A.A.

'The astronomers speak about certain bodies in outer space which, having lost

their generating function, shrink slowly and inexorably, concentrating

themselves in such a way that they shrink to infinitesimal size, but acquire

an impressive gravity. They are the so-called 'black holes,'' of very small

volume, with terrific weight. Their density becomes so concentrated that a

gravitational vortex is formed around them, a ghostly and catastrophic hole

that devours everything that passes by; light and radio and energy waves are

absorbed and drawn by that irresistible whirlpool.

'The same thing happened in our alcoholic life. Emotional overload led to a

shrinking of our mentality. A gloomy emptiness surrounded us. A tremendous

storage of negative energy took place, aided by our own guilt and suffering.

The greater our emotional load, the smaller our spiritual dimension. The

greater the density of our selfishness, the shorter the scope of our horizons.

Black holes in the space of our lives were sinking and paralyzing our

willpower, our capacities, our dreams, our ambitions, goals, and outlooks.

'Unlike those surreal bodies, we did have a way out of our condition. The

lifesaving message of A.A. came to us. And the tiny universe that confined us

started to expand again. We began to untie our imagination, our mind, and our

good will. We were ready to live and let live. Spiritual life was reborn. We

found harmony with brothers, God, and ourselves. And we called that Recovery.

'What, then is Recovery for me?

'It is not perfection, but the search for it. It is not lethargy, but a state

of awareness. It is realizing that there is a place for us in the world.

It is acknowledging that we, alone, cannot do anything, but with the help of

God we can accomplish everything.

It is being sure that we walk along the path, even though we make our path as

we walk.

live tomorrow.

It is knowing that our journey has a meaning, a reason for being.

It is a constant spiritual awakening. And, above all, recovery is a working

faith.

'We alcoholics have already suffered at the hands of a powerful enemy. We do

our illness physically, mentally, and morally. When we awoke to reality, we

stood amidst the ruins of a shattered life, a destroyed morality, and a

smashed dignity.

'Through the grace of God, however, we have survived by joining a society of

equals. We need each other in a harmonious environment in order to survive. We

needed Unity.

'What is Unity for me?

'It is not a monody, but a symphony of individual voices.

It is not a compact law, but a mixture of different opinions.

It is knowing that our alcoholic brother or sister has the same right to life,

happiness, and peace as we have.

It is feeling that the word 'we'' stands before the word 'I.''

It is admitting that we are all equal before God.

It is acceptance that different paths can lead us toward our final destiny.

It is a stripping of our pride, so we won't feel greater or lesser than our

fellows.

It is not doing to our neighbor what we wouldn't like done to us.

And, above all, unity is a working humility - humility to accept the ultimate

authority that expresses itself in our group conscience; humility to welcome

anybody who wishes A.A. membership; humility to understand that our service

tasks do not grant us power, command, or authority; humility to keep anonymity

that reminds us to place principles before personalities.

'In our drinking days, when the world was only a large 'nobody's land'' we had

selfishness as compass and our own fulfillment as schedule. Money,

intelligence, imagination, and initiative were used only as tools for

constructing a universe fitted to our size. When our castle made out of cards

fell down on our own heads, someone else came to rescue us, understood us, and

delivered the message that saved us. So much was put at our disposal -

literature to read, experience freely and gladly given, and a meeting place

where a cup of coffee was waiting for us.

'At first we received and used these services, taking them for granted. But

gradually we began to feel that a treasure, which we had no right to hide

away, was being placed in our hands. We had to give to someone else the light

of hope that had illuminated our darkness. It was unfair to let the fruits we

had harvested rot in the barns of our laziness. And so we turned to Service.

'What is Service for me?

'It is not altruism, but a need for survival. It is not charity, but an

expression of gratitude.

It is the responsibility of lending a hand to our brother or sister who is

drowning. It is recognizing that, by giving ourselves to others, we will find

our own souls.

It is learning that they who give the most, receive the most.

It is extending to other alcoholics the sobriety that was bestowed on us.

It is working so that others get a permanent place in the new world we have

discovered. It is remembering the words of Bill W.: 'We must carry A.A.'s

message; otherwise we ourselves may fall into decay and those who have not yet

been given the truth may die.''

And, above all, service is a working love.

'It is love that works - unselfish, patient, tolerant, anonymous love, love

that doesn't have a price tag on it. Love that has no envy and that endures

everything.

'In the name of John my fellow delegate, and all the A.A.`s of Colombia, I

would like to thank you for your kind invitation to address you. May God help

all the participants in this meeting, so that we may be able to find new and

better approaches to bringing to all alcoholics in the world our Legacies of

Recovery with Unity through Service.

'Finally, we should like to congratulate our Finnish brethren for having

undertaken, in such a brilliant, responsible, and effective way, the

organization of this meeting.

'Thank you very much."

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++++Message 1716. . . . . . . . . . . . Shep Cornell - Compiled

From: NMOlson@aol.com . . . . . . . . . . . . 3/17/2004 4:52:00 AM

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The following is compiled from previous messages which have been deleted.

Nancy

Hello Group,

additional information.

So I thought I would ask the HISTORYLOVERS

"What ever happened to Shep Cornwell?"

Thanks for your help

Charles from California

__________

Hello Charles and Group:

Charles, I think you have Shep Cornell in mind--no "w" in the name.

I talked with Shep by phone in 1980. He was then retired and living in

Earlysville, VA, right next to Charlottesville. It must not be very large,

because I don't find it in my Rand McNally Road Atlas.

Shep knew Bill, Lois, and Ebby from the 1920s days in Manchester. He was a

successful investor and even owned a seat on the New York Stock Exchange. I

don't know what circumstances led him into the Oxford Group, but he was a

member in 1934 and conspired with Cebra Graves to call on Ebby, who was having

lots of trouble right there in Manchester. Rowland Hazard joined them, and

became the key person in sponsoring Ebby.

Shep had an apartment in Manhattan and Ebby, after being taken there

(presumably by Rowland), soon moved to Calvary Mission, which was way over on

the East Side from Calvary Church. Shep was involved with Bill's early

attempts to fit in with the Oxford Group and apparently didn't think Bill was

very sincere at the time. He was well-heeled enough to take all of them to

dinner at a time when Bill and Ebby were both flat broke.

Shep was not an alcoholic, although he was abstaining at that time--much in

keeping with Oxford Group practice. (My belief is that most of the Groupers

didn't understand the crucial difference between normal drinkers and

alcoholics.) He told me that he drank moderately on occasions and had no

problem.

I have the impression that Shep didn't stay with the Oxford Group as the years

rolled on. He served in the Army during World War II, reaching the rank of

lieutenant colonel. After the war, he eventually joined a large manufacturing

firm in Milwaukee and became general manager. (I can't remember the name of

the company, but it was a large producer of automobile frames and farm silos.)

He was comfortably retired when I talked with him, and spent his days golfing

and, I assume, looking after his investments. Lois remembered him as a fine

golfer, and it's even possible that Bill played a few rounds with him in 1929,

when Bill was still flying high on Wall Street.

I heard some years ago that Shep had passed on, but I don't know the year.

It's possible that his name is in the Social Security Death Index. I believe

his full name was Shepard or Sheppard. Perhaps other History Lovers can do due

diligence and track this down.~~~~~~~~

Mel Barger

__________

[18]

Check Francis Cornell 1899-1985 in SSDI -- I think he's the one.

__________

The info below was culled from the sources noted.

SOURCE REFERENCES:

AABB Alcoholics Anonymous, the Big Book, AAWS

AACOA AA Comes of Age, AAWS

AGAA The Akron Genesis of Alcoholics Anonymous, by Dick B (soft cover)

BW-RT Bill W by Robert Thompson (soft cover)

BW-FH Bill W by Francis Hartigan (hard cover)

BW-40 Bill W My First 40 Years, autobiography (hard cover)

EBBY Ebby the Man Who Sponsored Bill W by Mel B (soft cover)

GB Getting Better Inside Alcoholics Anonymous by Nan Robertson (soft cover)

LR Lois Remembers, by Lois Wilson

MSBW My Search for Bill W, by Mel B. (soft cover)

NG Not God, by Ernest Kurtz (expanded edition, soft cover)

NW New Wine, by Mel B (soft cover)

PIO Pass It On, AAWS

1934

Graves (an attorney) and F Sheppard (Shep) Cornell (a NY stockbroker). Both

were Oxford Group members who had done considerable drinking with Ebby and

were abstaining from drinking. They informed Ebby of the OG in VT but Ebby was

not quite ready yet to stop drinking. (EBBY 51-55, PIO 113)

August, Cebra G and Shep C vacationed at Rowland Hazard’s house in

Bennington, VT. Cebra learned that Ebby T was about to be committed to

Brattleboro Asylum. Cebra, Shep and Rowland decided to make Ebby “a

project.” (NG 309)

November (late), Ebby T (who was staying at the Calvary Mission in NYC)

visited Bill W at 182 Clinton St and shared his recovery experience "one

alcoholic talking to another.” (AACOA vii, 58-59) A few days later, Ebby

returned with Shep C. They spoke to Bill about the Oxford Group. Bill did not

think too highly of Shep. Lois recalled that Ebby visited several times, once

even staying for dinner. (AACOA vii, NG 17-18, 31`, BW-FH 57-58, NW 22-23, PIO

111-116, BW-RT 187-192)

December 18, Bill W left Towns Hospital and began working with drunks. He and

Lois attended Oxford Group meetings with Ebby T and Shep C at Calvary House.

The Rev Sam Shoemaker was the rector at the Calvary Church (the OG’s US

headquarters). The church was on 4th Ave (now Park Ave) and 21st St. Calvary

House (where OG meetings were usually held) was at 61 Gramercy Park. Calvary

Mission was located at 346 E 23rd St. (AABB 14-16, AACOA vii, LR 197, BW-40

155-160, NG 24-25, PIO 127, GB 32-33, AGAA 144)

Arthur S.

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++++Message 1717. . . . . . . . . . . . Harry Tiebout Obituary (1966)

From: Lash, William (Bill) . . . . . . . . . . . . 3/21/2004 5:30:00 PM

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July 1966 AA Grapevine

In Memory of

HARRY

BY the time this issue of the Grapevine reaches its readers, the whole world

Tiebout, the first psychiatrist ever to hold up the hands of our Fellowship

for all to see. His gifts of courageous example, deep perception of our needs,

and constant labor in our behalf have been - and always will be - values quite

beyond our reckoning.

It began like this: The year was early 1939, and the book, Alcoholics

Anonymous, was about to hit the press. To help with the final edit of that

volume we had made prepublication copies in multilith form. One of them fell

into Harry's hands. Though much of the content was then alien to his own

views, he read our up-coming book with deep interest. Far more significantly,

he at once resolved to show the new volume to a couple of his patients, since

known to us as "Marty" and "Grenny." These were the toughest kind of

customers, and seemingly hopeless.

At first, the book made little impression on this pair. Indeed, its heavy

larding with the word "God," so angered Marty that she threw it out her

window, flounced off the grounds of the swank sanitarium where she was, and

proceeded to tie on a big bender.

Grenny didn't carry a rebellion quite so far; he played it cool. When Marty

finally turned up, shaking badly, and asked Dr. Harry what next to do, he

simply grinned and said, "You'd better read that book again!" Back in her

quarters, Marty finally brought herself to leaf through its pages once more. A

single phrase caught her eye and it read, "We cannot live with resentment."

The moment she admitted this to herself, she was filled with a "transforming

spiritual experience."

Forthwith she attended a meeting. It was at Clinton Street, Brooklyn, where

Lois and I lived. Returning to "Blythewood" she found Grenny intensely

curious. Her first words to him were these: "Grenny, we are not alone any

more!"

until this day. Watching their unfoldment, Harry was electrified. Only a week

before they had both presented stone walls of obstinate resistance to his

every approach. Now they talked, and freely. To Harry these were the facts -

and brand new facts. Scientist and man of courage that he was, Harry did not

for a moment look the other way. Setting aside his own convictions about

alcoholism and its neurotic manifestations, he soon became convinced that AA

had something, perhaps something big.

All the years afterwards, and often at very considerable risk to his

professional standing, Harry continued to endorse AA. Considering Harry's

professional standing, this required courage of the highest order.

Let me share some concrete examples. In one of his early medical papers - that

noted one on 'surrender'' (Reprinted from the "Quarterly Journal of Studies on

Alcohol," Dec., 1954, pp. 610-621, available from the National Council on

Alcoholism) - he had declared this ego-reducing practice to be not only basic

to AA, but also absolutely fundamental to his own practice of psychiatry. This

took humility as well as fortitude. It will always be a bright example for us

all.

Collier of Rochester and Dwight Anderson of New York, Harry had persuaded the

American Medical Society of the State of New York to let me, a layman, read a

paper about AA, at their annual gathering. Five years later this same trio,

again spear-headed by Harry, persuaded the American Psychiatric Association to

invite the reading of another paper by me - this time in their 1949 Annual

Meeting at Montreal. By then, AA had about 100,000 members, and many

psychiatrists had already seen at close range our impact on their patients.

For us of AA who were present at that gathering it was a breathtaking hour. My

presentation would be "the spiritual experience," as we AAs understood it.

Surely we could never get away with this! To our astonishment the paper was

extremely well received - judging, at least, from the sustained applause.

Immediately afterwards, I was approached by a most distinguished old

gentleman. He introduced himself as an early president of the American

Psychiatric Association. Beaming he said, "Mr. W., it is very possible that I

am the only one of my colleagues here today who really believes in 'spiritual

experience' as you do. Once upon a time, I myself had an awakening much akin

to your own, an experience that I shared in common with two close friends,

Bucke and Whitman."

Naturally I inquired, "But why did your colleagues seem to like the paper?"

His reply went like this: "You see, we psychiatrists deeply know what very

difficult people you alcoholics really are. It was not the claims of your

paper that stirred my friends, it was the fact that AA can sober up alcoholics

wholesale."

Seen in this light, I was the more deeply moved by the generous and

magnificent tribute that had been paid to us of AA. My paper was soon

published in the American Psychiatric Journal and our New York headquarters

was authorized by the Association to make all the reprints we wished for

distribution (Excerpts from this talk are contained in Alcoholism The Illness,

by Bill W., a pamphlet available from AA World Services). By then the trek of

AA overseas had well begun. Heaven only knows what this invaluable reprint

accomplished when it was presented to psychiatrists in distant places by the

fledgling AA groups. It vastly hastened the worldwide acceptance of AA.

I could go on and on about Harry, telling you of his activities in the general

field of alcoholism, of his signal service on our AA Board of Trustees. I

could tell stories of my own delightful friendship with him, especially

remembering his great good humor and infectious laugh. But the space allotted

me is too limited.

So in conclusion, I would have Harry speak for himself. Our AA Grapevine of

November, 1963, carried a piece by him that, between its lines, unconsciously

reveals to us a wonderful self portrait of our friend. Again, we feel his fine

perception, again we see him at work for AA. No epitaph could be better than

this.

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From: ricktompkins@sbcglobal.net> . . . . . . . . . . . . 3/21/2004 10:27:00

PM

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This is your invitation to examine the Second Issue of An Alcoholics Anonymous

History In Northern Illinois Area 20, copyright 1996, 2003 by NIA, Ltd.

Posted online at http://www.aa-nia.org this expanded monograph represents an

additional six years of research and discovery. Where the First Issue spanned

104 pages of text, this rewritten work, its Second Issue, goes to 152 pages.

My Assembly will soon vote on a limited printing for distribution to District

Archives and East Central Region Area Archives, to share its 'hard' copies in

their lending libraries. This work is an effective result of the AA committee

system, with full trust and procedural approval from the Area 20 Assembly.

Meanwhile, online, enjoy it in the same spirit of discovery that was given to

me as its author!

Yours in serenity and in fellowship,

Rick T.,

Algonquin, Illinois

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++++Message 1719. . . . . . . . . . . . Sparky H.

From: Victor A. Farinelli . . . . . . . . . . . . 3/22/2004 9:26:00 AM

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Hello Group,

I am looking for some information on Sparky H. from

the Chicago Il area. He passed away in the mid-80's.

Thanks,

__________________________________

Do you Yahoo!?

Yahoo! Finance Tax Center - File online. File on time.

http://taxes.yahoo.com/filing.html

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++++Message 1720. . . . . . . . . . . . June 5, multi-district history &

archives gathering

From: NMOlson@aol.com . . . . . . . . . . . . 3/24/2004 3:02:00 AM

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JUNE 5, 2004 MULTI-DISTRICT HISTORY & ARCHIVES GATHERING:

District 36 of Area 59 (Eastern PA) will host a free one-day History &

Archives Gathering Saturday, June 5, 2004 at the Friendship Fire Co. at 171 N.

Mt Joy Street, Elizabethtown, PA. Full directions will be available to those

planning to come. Contact Jared Lobdell at jaredlobdell@comcast.net or

jaredlobdell@aol.com or by phone at 717-367-4985 (not after 9:30 p.m. Eastern

time).

Registration 8-9 a.m. on Saturday, June 5, and the Gathering will open at 9

Route 230 (Market St.) on the edge of Elizabethtown and the Holiday Inn

Express just off Route 283 on the edge of Elizabethtown. Please let us know if

you're coming. The Gathering will be looking at forming archives for history

and using archives for history, and there will be a concentration on three

times in AA history esp. in Eastern PA, in and around 1954 (we have invited

for local oldtimers with at least 50 years sobriety), in and around 1937

(looking particularly at some of the Eastern PA founders, including Fitz M.),

and in and around 1971 -- so 67, 50, and 33 years ago. The oldtimers are

scheduled for the morning, the archives/history panels in the early afternoon,

ending with history presentations and a roundtable.

As with last year's Gathering we hope there will be archives exhibits at least

from MD, Eastern PA, North Jersey, the Clarence S. Archive, and local

archives. Lunch will be served. More to follow, but be in touch if you're

intending to come. -- Jared lobdell

Please send all replies to jaredlobdell@comcast.net

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++++Message 1721. . . . . . . . . . . . Jerseyites Buy Big Sociable Clubhouse (1944)

From: Lash, William (Bill) . . . . . . . . . . . . 3/23/2004 11:14:00 AM

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November 1944 AA Grapevine

JERSEYITES BUY BIG SOCIABLE CLUBHOUSE

To the A.A.s of North Jersey goes the honor of being the original contributors

to one phase of A.A. history, geographically speaking. They are the first of

the "Along the Metropolitan Circuit" groups to buy a clubhouse of their own.

Members of a dozen North Jersey groups, forming a company called Alanon

Association (Joe B. is their counsel), participated in the deal that ended, in

October, in the purchase of the three-story brick building at 8th Ave. and

North 7th St., Newark, N.J., known as the Roseville Athletic Association.

The purchase price of $22,000 includes furniture and equipment, which in turn

includes such things as billiard tables and bowling alleys. The transaction

involved a first mortgage of $15,000.00 with a non-alcoholic A.A. supporter,

the remainder (a large portion of which has already been subscribed) to be

pledged by individual A.A.'s. Certificates of indebtedness are to be issued to

all contributors, bearing interest, and redeemable in five to ten years. The

plan is, however, to clear off all indebtedness as quickly as possible,

including the mortgage. (Up to the time of purchase the building had sustained

itself financially with revenues from bowling, pool, billiards, and tobacco.)

The dues system will be voluntary weekly contributions - the amounts kept a

strictly confidential matter - with $1.00 as tops.

Participation of the A.A. men and women in Alanon, Inc., is entirely as

individuals. There were no group commitments, and care was taken to avoid

involving Alcoholics Anonymous in any way. The Board of Trustees of the

Corporation are: Chairman, Tom M.; Secretary, Jim G.; Treasurer, Herman G.;

Recording Secretary (handling dues), Hal R.; Stuart S., Dr. Arthur S., Pete

O'T., Oscar O., Helen D., Bea W., Ed M., and Leo D.

The Newark Group, who have been holding their meetings at the Roseville A.A.

for three years will continue to do so. Maintained for 58 years as a

conservative gentlemen's club, there has never been a bar in the club.

However, food facilities, which also do not exist at present, will be

installed pronto.

The big building is located one block from the Roseville Avenue station of the

Lackawanna R.R., about 20 minutes from New York. It is expected that the

clubhouse will develop into a clinical center for new people, and a social

haven for all A.A. men and women, irrespective of their group membership.

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++++Message 1722. . . . . . . . . . . . AA 2004 Founders'' Day Celebrations

(N.Y., VT., OH.)

From: Lash, William (Bill) . . . . . . . . . . . . 3/24/2004 12:11:00 PM

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Saturday, June 5, 2004

Stepping Stones (where Bill & Lois Wilson lived from 1941 until they died)

62 Oak Road, Bedford Hills (Katonah), NY

914-232-7368

House & Wit's End is open for viewing at 12NOON, AA (someone who knew Bill

Wilson)/Alanon/Alateen speakers meeting begins at 2PM.

Coffee, soda, & dessert served only.

Sunday, June 6, 2004

The Wilson House (where Bill Wilson was born & lived as a child, & where Bill

& Lois are buried)

Village St., East Dorset, VT.

802-362-5524

Gravesite ceremony at 1PM, speaker meeting (someone who knew Bill Wilson) at

2PM.

Friday - Sunday, June 11-13, 2004

Akron, OH. (where Dr. Bob's house is, where Dr. Bob & Anne Smith are buried,

where AA meeting #1 is, where St. Thomas Hospital is, where Henrietta

Sieberling's gatehouse is, where the Mayflower Hotel is, etc.)

http://www.akronaa.org/FoundersDay/foundersdayindex.html

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++++Message 1723. . . . . . . . . . . . Dr. Susan B. Anthony II

From: NMOlson@aol.com . . . . . . . . . . . . 3/26/2004 3:34:00 AM

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Since starting the AA History Buffs/Lovers four years ago, I have intended to

write a piece on my good friend and spiritual mentor Dr. Susan B. Anthony II.

Susan sobered up in Marty Mann's office on August 22, 1946.

Today I discovered this biography on the website of the University of

Rochester, River Campus Libraries, where Susan's papers are archived.

Nancy

Dr. Susan B. Anthony (also referred to as Susan B. Anthony II), the

great-niece and namesake of the women's rights leader Susan B. Anthony

(1820-1906), was born in Easton, Pennsylvania in 1916. Her father Luther Burt

Anthony was the son of the suffragist's younger brother Jacob Merritt Anthony.

Anthony attended the University of Rochester, graduating in 1938. In 1938-39

she worked as a research assistant in the office of the National Youth

Administration in Washington, DC. While an undergraduate she was involved in

the peace movement, but learning of the plight of anti-fascists forces in the

Spanish Civil War, she lobbied in 1938 to lift the arms embargo against the

Spanish Republic. During this same period she was involved in the civil rights

movement, becoming a sponsor of the National Negro congress. In 1941 she

received a master of arts degree in Political science from American

University.

Anthony was a city desk editor for the Washington Star from 1939 to 1944. She

also published articles on women's issues and migrants in The New York Times

Magazine, The Christian Science Monitor, and other periodicals. Her first

book, Out of the Kitchen-Into the War was published in 1943.

In 1940 Anthony married political activist Henry Hill Collins, Jr.,

(1904-1961). During the war, she worked with Ann Shyne at Bryn Mawr College to

compile a comprehensive study of "Women During the War and After." A summary

of the results were published by the U.S. Women's Bureau and provided Anthony

with material for several articles and lectures. In 1946 she hosted five times

a week a radio program, "This Woman's World," over New York station WMCA.

After nine months it was canceled for being "too controversial to be

commercially feasible." The program was picked up by the New York Post station

WLIB, but canceled six weeks later. In 1948, she and Henry Collins were

divorced.

In 1945 she co-founded with Helen Snow the Congress of American Women. Anthony

represented the Congress and its affiliate, the Women's International

Democratic Federation, at the United Nations Status of Women Commission in

1948.

had been the deputy commissioner of Welfare in New York City from 1938 to

1941. In 1941 he was appointed legislative and political action director of

the Greater New York Congress of Industrial Organizations Council, and in 1944

became the legislative representative in Washington for the United Electrical,

Radio and Machine Workers of America. At the time of their marriage he was the

New England Director of the Progressive Party Labor Committee, an organization

he had founded to support the Presidential bid of Progressive Party candidate,

Henry A. Wallace.

Now living in Boston, Anthony broadcast a radio program on which she discussed

the problems of alcoholism and interviewed alcoholics. Because of her

husband's associates, she was mentioned as a "fellow traveler" in a Life

magazine article. In 1951 she divorced Clifford McAvoy and moved to Key West,

Florida where she became a newspaper reporter for the Citizen.

In 1954 she married Aubrey John Lewis, a British citizen living in Jamaica.

Lewis was a Religious Science practitioner and owner of an allspice

plantation. In Jamaica Anthony became a reporter for The Gleaner, writing

several articles on celebrities who visited the island.

Beginning in the early 1950s, Anthony's espousal of liberal causes brought her

to the attention of the U. S. Justice Department, who requested her to come to

Washington, D.C. to testify before a Congressional committee investigating

communism. When, for health reasons, she refused to return to the United

States, she became subject to extradition. After being served a subpoena in

December, 1954, she took out British citizenship. Her lawyers advised her that

this action would give her dual citizenship, and not jeopardize her American

citizenship. This proved not to be the case.

In 1960 Anthony divorced John Lewis and left Jamaica. She arrived in the

United States on a visitor's visa, her passport having been confiscated by the

U. S. Consul in Kingston. In 1967 Congressman John Bardemas introduced a bill

to restore her citizenship. It was voted down by the House Immigration

Subcommittee, who ordered her immediate deportation. She won a stay of

deportation, and the case was reheard before the U.S. Board of Immigration

Appeals in 1969. The Board reversed all former Immigration and Naturalization

Service and Justice Department actions against her and restored her

citizenship.

In 1960 Anthony underwent a religious conversion and was baptized in the Roman

Catholic Church in 1961. She entered St. Mary's College, Notre Dame, and in

1965 received a Ph.D. in theology. She was one of the first fifteen Catholic

laywomen to receive this degree. She taught theology at Marymount College in

Boca Raton, Florida from 1965 to 1969.

A recovered alcoholic, Anthony dedicated much of her professional and personal

life to helping others overcome alcoholism. She wrote articles and traveled

extensively giving presentations on the issue. In 1973 she was a substance

abuse coordinator at South County Mental Health Center in Florida. In 1975 she

founded Wayside House, a rehabilitation center for chemically dependent women,

in Delray Beach, Florida. The United States Senate Committee on Alcoholism and

Drugs honored Anthony for her work with alcoholics at a reception in 1976.

Having found strength in contemplation and prayer, Anthony often wrote and

lectured on these subjects. For nine months in 1976 she was a novice at a

Cenacle convent drawn by their emphasis on prayer and teaching.

In 1978 Anthony appeared on the television game show, "$124,000 Question" as a

women's rights expert. In five appearances she won $16,000. The publicity

helped launch her national lecture tour. Her topics included women,

alcoholism, feminism, and prayer. In 1977 she attended the National Women's

Conference in Houston, Texas, where she endorsed the Equal Rights Amendment.

When the Susan B. Anthony dollar was issued in 1979, Anthony participated in

many of the celebrations, culminating in a reception at the White House hosted

by Rosalyn Carter.

During the 1980s, Anthony traveled throughout the country giving lectures on

substance abuse, feminist issues, and prayer. In 1983 she participated in the

Seneca Falls Women's Peace Encampment marching in the protest against nuclear

weapons stored in the Seneca Falls army depot.

In 1971, Anthony published her autobiography The Ghost in My Life (New York:

Chosen Books). It was reprinted by Bantam Books in 1973. Her other books

include Survival Kit (New York: New American Library, 1972), and Sidewalk

Contemplatives (New York: Crossroad, 1987).

Dr. Anthony died in 1991.

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++++Message 1724. . . . . . . . . . . . The Man Behind the A.A. Revolution

From: Lash, William (Bill) . . . . . . . . . . . . 3/26/2004 11:03:00 AM

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The Man Behind the A.A. Revolution

Susan Cheever talks about her new biography of Bill Wilson, the man she says

was made to found Alcoholics Anonymous

Interview by Paul O'Donnell

There have been several books and memoirs written about the founding of

Alcoholics Anonymous by Bill Wilson and Dr. Robert Smith in the 1940s. But as

Susan Cheever found when she was asked to write a profile of Wilson, there has

not been an authoritative biography, until now. Cheever, the daughter of

novelist John Cheever and the author of two memoirs of her own drinking life,

has written a very personal portrait of Wilson, portraying him as a restless

thinker who created A.A. the way an inventor might stumble on a revolutionary

technology. We talked to her recently about her book and her subject.

Bill Wilson was a complicated person with an amazing story. How did you go

about getting a handle on him?

There were a number of books about Bill Wilson, and by him, but a lot of the

basic biographical tasks had not been done. I used everything that had been

written, and I went to the archives at Stepping Stones [Wilson's home, now a

museum], where I had the amazing luck of getting there before it had been

indexed, so I could watch the process of archiving. There are a ton of

letters. Bill and [his wife] Lois were great letter writers, and much of the

early part of the book, when he's still drinking, are from their letters.

Whenever you're inside someone's mind in the book, whether it's Emily Wilson's

in the opening scene or Bill Wilson's in the Mayfair hotel, it's from their

letters.

I also went to [Wilson's birthplace] in Vermont. The more I hung out in East

Dorset, the more I saw how important Yankee free-thinking and pure democracy

and stubbornness is to the program of A.A. Dr. Robert Smith [A.A. co-founder]

was also from Vermont.

What was it about that Yankee mindset that led to AA?

Well, a lot of threads start in Vermont that end up in the 12 steps and the 12

traditions of A.A. One is the idea that each person has an equal voice. That's

enshrined in the bylaws. A.A. actually belongs to and is run by it's own

member. That whole idea of pure democracy comes right out of the Vermont town

meeting.

Another thing is that alot of New England was dry when Bill Wilson was growing

up. They taught temperance in the schools. Bill Wilson actually had an

education in how to stay sober and how not to stay sober. And of course there

is the rampant spiritualism of the turn of the century in Vermont and New

Hampshire and upstate New York. People were reaching out for a different kind

of God, throwing over the Calvinistic, British Puritan God. Not just of

humanism, but transcendentalism, which is also enshrined in the 12 steps.

Where do you find that in A.A.?

Well, "God as we understand him." That's Thoreau. That's Emerson. It seems to

me that he took all these different strands--the religious, pure democracy,

temperance, the transcendentalist-humanist strand, which was buttressed when

he married a Swedenborgian--and wove them all into this astonishing program

which has changed the way we think about addiction. When I look at his life, I

think, 'Wow, this was a machine designed for this job.' He came out of this

weird stew of educational and spiritual tenets that ended up being the best

treatment for alcoholism.

The temperance movement plays a crucial role. As a child, he refuses to take

the temperance pledge and rejects religion altogether. How does he get from

there to seeing a higher power as a central part of a sober life as an adult?

Well, I think that's the story. For him, God took the form of a specific

entity. He flirted and maybe even slept with Catholicism in his later years.

But he had learned that God was an extremely personal concept, and that you

can never say to anyone, this is the kind of God you must have. Part of his

genius was understanding that there are things no one person can prescribe for

another if the person wants to help the other.

This is where he really shifted the way we think. He understood that being

drunk wasn't a lack of willpower or discipline. He understood that the way to

treat addiction is to court a change of heart with the utmost gentleness. That

is a really revolutionary idea. That understanding came from his own desperate

attempt to get sober, through trial and error--mostly error. He became, as his

friend Aldous Huxley called him, "The Greatest Social Architect of the 20th

century."

His insight was that drinking was not a moral problem?

Absolutely. He took the idea that alcoholics were bad people and changed it to

the idea that alcoholics are sick people. It changed the way we view

addiction. It changed the way we see human nature. He changed the way we see

each other as much as Freud did, I think. Bill led us to see that what we

think of as a failure of willpower is not that at all. It's a disease.

He wasn't saying that you're not responsible for the things that you do when

you're drinking. He was just saying that the way to stop drinking requires a

change of heart.

How did he change his own heart?

As you watch his story unfold, you see all the pieces of his program fall into

place. He would get one piece from talking to another drunk who had gotten

sober. Then when he was in a group of people who didn't want to drink, he saw

that the power of the group was a piece of it. Then he was able to think in

terms of surrendering his power rather than in terms of getting more. It was

as if he was always traveling further from or closer to a drink. Slowly he

began to understand the things that brought him closer and the things that

took him further away.

It's often called a religious program, and specifically Christian. It even

makes forgiveness one of its paragons.

The program of A.A., as written by Bill Wilson and Dr. Smith, only has one

purpose: to get you sober. That's it. To make you a better person, forget it.

That was one of the things he came to understand in those years of trial and

error. It has to be about only one thing.

So within the context of that primary purpose, forgiveness is a way to ready

the heart for the change. Bill himself had a different view of forgiveness.

One thing that's so moving about him is how he treated people who abandoned

him with incredible courtesy and generosity. His parents abandoned him,

financially, emotionally and physically, and they did it with incredible

self-righteousness. Yet he was constantly writing them letters, sending them

checks when he had no money, and inviting them to come and live with him.

That's forgiveness. So as a person, and I guess we can say as a Christian, he

was extremely forgiving, but in the steps of A.A., forgiveness is not meant to

improve your soul, it's meant to get you sober.

But it is in a sense a faith-based program, and one the courts often order

people into.

Well, they do that because it works. It's sort of the best thing we have by

far. In some parts of the country, it's more Christian, because each A.A.

meeting governs itself. So there are some A.A. meetings that are emphatically

anti-Christian and there are some that are emphatically Christian.

But you don't object to it being called religious.

Well, that's another question. I object to that because they object to that.