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

Message into Correctional Facilities; General Service: AA

Politics?; Faith in Action; Pacific U.S. Regional - Meet Your AA

Neighbors; Feliz, Alegre y Sobrio; AA Around the World Call Up -

I; Partners in A.A.; At the Turning Point; Le Language du Coeur;

Sobriety is Progressive Too; Victory in Defeat; One Day at a

Time; A New Freedom; How It Works; Easy Does It - But Do It;

Freedom Through acceptance; Emotional Sobriety; Let Go and Let

God; AA Meeting in Japanese; Gratitudine in Azione; Freunde in

Aller Welt; There is a Solution; Sober Awhile - Now What;

Carrying the Message Through Public Information; AA Grapevine:

Our Meeting in Print; Southeast U.S. regional - Meet Your AA

Neighbors; Working With Others; Time to Start Living; una Neuva

Libertad; Reaching the Alcoholic with Special Needs.

Because of my interest in AA history I chose "Pioneers in AA."

Bob P. chaired the meeting. He was at one time the head of GSO.

His story is the last one in the Big Book: "AA Taught Him to

Handle Sobriety."

Bob told us he had an extremely serious operation 18 months ago.

He was not expected to live. The doctors told his wife that his

survival was a miracle and that it was because of his great

attitude. The doctors asked his wife where he got that great

attitude. We know the answer to that.

He told us that at the 1985 convention in Montreal, he was

supposed to present Ruth Hock (Bill's first secretary who typed

the Big Book) with the five-millionth copy of the book. He

discovered he did not have it with him. So they looked all over

for a Big Book to borrow. They finally found one and he

presented it to her with the assurance she would get the real

one later. Bob said Ruth loved that. She said "Oh that's soooo

alcoholic."

The speakers were: Ruth O. of New Jersey, Jules P. of

California, and Bob S. of Texas, a member of Al-Anon.

Bob S. spoke first. He said he was the only person still alive

who was present when Doctor Bob and Bill Wilson first met. It

was Dr. Bob's son, Smitty. He was 17 at the time. He went with

his parents to Henrietta Sieberling's house for his father's

first meeting with Bill. In the car his father said "I'm giving

this bird 15 minutes." His mother did not say to Bill, "will you

come to dinner next Tuesday?" She

said "why don't you come live with us?" Bill said without

hesitation "OK!" Smitty said that there were never two people as

different as Bill and his father. If it had been up to Dr. Bob

AA would never have got beyond Akron. If it were up to Bill they

would have sold franchises.

But they had two important things in common. They were both open

minded about spirituality, and they both had a desire to be of

service to others.

Smitty talked about how his parents brought alcoholics to live

in their home. Dr. Bob would take them up to the bedroom and

then give them some medicine. It was paraldehyde. "When my

teenage sister and I opened the front door and smelled

paraldehyde we would say 'Oh, oh, we've lost our beds again.'"

He told about the first man they tried to sober up. His name was

Eddie Riley and he moved in, I think he said with his wife and

kids. One day he chased Anne Smith around with a knife. Dr. Bob

considered Eddie his first failure. But at Dr. Bob's funeral a

man walked up to Smitty and said "Do you remember me?" It was

Eddie. He was living in Youngstown, Ohio, and was sober one

year.

Smitty took the woman he married to meet his parents for the

first time, Dr. Bob looked her up and

down and said of this tall, slender woman, "She's built for

speed and light housekeeping." Smitty said his wife was sober 19

years when she died. One day Dr. Bob told his son "Flies carry

germs. So young man, keep yours buttoned."

Smitty said the Oxford Group members communicated with each

other all the time. His mother was always on the phone with one

or another of them. And that, of course, was true of the

alcoholics in the Oxford Group as well. But things were not

always sunshine and joy. There were people in A.A. in the early

days with big egos. "Can you imagine?" he asked. "There were

actually alcoholics with big egos in the early days?"

Smitty ended his talk with a big plug for the traditions. "I say

thank God for those traditions." He got a standing ovation.

I don't remember much of what Jules P said, but he was very

enjoyable.

The last speaker was Ruth O. When Bob P. introduced her he said

that in planning the convention in 1995 he had a bright idea.

"Well, it seemed like a good idea at the time." They would let

every alcoholic with 40 years put their names and sobriety dates

in a big bucket, and the first 15 called could get up and talk

for five minutes.

When Ruth O. got up to talk she talked on, and on, and on. She

joked that they had told her that this time they were going to

have a trap door to use if she talked too long. But she was a

fascinating speaker, sober 52 years.

She lived in the Bronx when she came into A.A. and was the only

woman in her group for a long time. The men were apparently not

too kind to her. They were rather gruff. One of them asked her

one day how long it had been since she had a drink. She said

proudly: "50 days tomorrow." The man sitting behind her hit her

on the shoulder and said gruffly, "It's 49!" She must have told

that story often because the day before she celebrated her 50th

anniversary the phone kept ringing. When she answered a gruff

voice would say "It's 49! It's 49!"

But Bill Wilson was kinder. The first time she met Bill he

kissed her on the cheek. "I haven't washed that cheek since,"

she said. And somehow I believed her.

Our choices for the early afternoon meetings were: Lesbians/Gays

in AA; Women in AA; Humility: A Power Greater; Turning It Over;

La Consicence de Groupe,

Informee; Living Sober; AA and Native Peoples; Sponsorship:

Leading by Example; Young & successful - Who Needs Meetings?;

Tools for Sobriety; Twelfth Step: Love in Action; Estructuras de

Servicio General; AA Meeting in Japanese; Solo per Oggi; AA

Traditions and AA Events; Die Zwöf Schritte; Unity Through

Humility; Willingness: The Essence of Growth; AA's History of

Love; A Daily Reprieve; East Central U.S. Regional - Meet Your

AA Neighbors;

In All our Affairs; Twelve Concepts: The Structural Framework;

and Twelfth-Stepping the Old Fashioned Way.

I had no problem choosing. My old friend, Mel S, was speaking at

the Twelfh-Stepping the Old Fashioned Way meeting. I hadn't seen

Mel in years. Mel had his last drink on May 23, 1965, in a bar

at an officer's club in Virginia. He had entered the Army Air

Corps in 1939 as a private. He wanted to be a pilot. He retired

27 years later as a full Colonel. He told of the many escapades

involving crashing air planes when he was drunk. But he always

somehow managed to get out of trouble.

But finally, in 1965, he was ordered to fly his plane to

Washington to deliver some top secret papers to the Pentagon. He

drank and was in a blackout. He got a call saying that the

papers had not arrived at the Pentagon. Where were they? Mel

couldn't remember. He had no idea what had happened. He was

desperate. This meant the end of his career. He would be court

marshaled, he might serve time in prison. In desperation he

called the chaplain and told him his predicament. The chaplain

told him to stay where he was, he was sending someone to get

him.

Two men showed up, one of them an Army Warrant Officer. They

The warrant officer took him to stay in his home. It was a

small, modest home and they didn't have a guest room, but they

had an unfinished basement and they put a cot in the basement

for Mel. He lay there detoxing, and in terror of what the future

would bring, Then he heard a noise on the stairs, and his host

came down carrying a big roll under his arm. He spread the roll

on the floor next to Mel's cot and said "I'm going to sleep here

tonight. I know how you feel." Mel had trouble telling the

story, he was so filled with emotion.

Mel was madly trying to think of excuses to make up to get out

of this very serious trouble. But the two A.A. members told him

that he had to do two things: don't drink, and tell the truth.

So Mel told his superiors the truth. He had been drunk and he

had no idea what had happened to the top secret papers. An

investigation was begun, and Mel tried -- on the advice of his

A.A. sponsors -- to leave the matter in God's hands.

Then one day he got a call. It seems someone at the Pentagon had

found the papers. They had been locked away in a safe the whole

time. So Mel's superiors told him that since he had, indeed,

delivered the papers to the Pentagon as he had been ordered to

do, all charges against him would be dropped.

In all the years I had known Mel I had not heard his story

before. I was deeply moved.

Our choices for the late afternoon meetings were "Young People

in AA; Gratitude in Your Attitude; AA Loners and

Internationalists; AA and Court Programs; Carrying the Message

Into Treatment Facilities; El Anonimato al Nivel Público;

Archives: A Collective Vision; Intergrupos y Oficinas Centrales;

Freedom to Choose; History of the Big Book; Spiritual Journey;

Resentment - the Number One Offender; AA and Cyberspace;

Carrying the Message to Older Alcoholics; Notre Methode; AA

Meeting in Korean; AA Meeting for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing;

AA in Western

Europe/Scandinavia; AA in Central/South America; Viviendo

Sobrio; AA in Asia/Oceania Zone; Western Canada Regional - Meet

Your AA Neighbors; This Matter of Honesty; Prayer Under

Pressure; and A Daily Inventory.

Again I had no problem choosing; a friend from the Washington,

D.C. area whom I hadn't seen in 20 years, Hal Marley, was

speaking at the meeting on gratitude. I am very glad I had that

last opportunity to see Hal. He died not long after.

The highlight of the opening meeting that night was the flag

ceremony. The first flag to appear was carried by a Native

American in full traditional dress and carrying a large pole

covered with feathers. Then, as the name of each nation was

called, an A.A. member from that country entered carrying the

country's flag. They were called in alphabetical order, ending

with Zambia, followed by the flags of the host countries: Canada

and the United States. Over 75 countries were represented.

As each country name was called the members from those countries

rose and cheered loudly. But many of us cheered along with them.

Especially when the Russian flag appeared.

The flags were lined up in front of the stage and remained there

throughout the convention.

Saturday turned out to be a day for miracles. Miracles were

happening all over Minneapolis from the beginning, but I first

began being acutely aware of them on Saturday.

The trip was costing me much more than I could afford, so I

wanted to save money where I could. I had hoped to save some

money by having my coffee in my room each morning. But the

coffee pot didn't work. I told them at the desk Friday and they

said they would put a new one in. They did bring up a new one.

But it, too, wouldn't work. So I bought a $1.50 cup of coffee in

the lobby, as I had the day before.

The man selling the coffee was reading a book by Dr. Abraham

Twersky, so I said "Oh, are you in the program?" He said he was

not but he was staying sober by another method. I then started

telling him that I knew Rabbi Twersky, the alcoholism treatment

specialist.

A man was also buying a cup of coffee. He was not wearing a

badge and at first I didn't even know he was there for the

convention. He had just come down for coffee -- perhaps his

coffee maker wasn't working either -- and had not bothered with

his badge or anything else. But he was carrying a large file of

papers.

together in the lobby and I started telling him about A.A.

History Buffs. He said "I feel there is something I should say

to you." Then he opened his file of papers and pulled out all

sorts of wonderful historical documents. He gave me a copy of

Ruth Hock's letter to Bill Wilson, recalling the early days of

A.A.

Our choices of meetings Saturday morning included the same wide

"Archives: A Collective Vision," because I knew that Charles K.

would be speaking there and I wanted to meet him and, Doug B.,

both on-line friends.

Afterward, I went off to try to hear Clancy I. of California.

Clancy's meeting was too crowded and I couldn't get in, so I

went back to the Convention Center and wandered into the first

meeting that I came upon. The meeting was already in progress. I

soon discovered that it was a Gay and Lesbian meeting, and a

woman from San Francisco was speaking. Her name was "Peacock."

Another of those little "coincidences." I had recently

befriended a lesbian woman alcoholic in Pennsylvania. When I

heard "Peacock" I immediately knew I must buy her tape for my

friend.

remember a few things she said. She said that Clancy I. was her

sponsor. She called him to ask his permission to speak at a

Gay/Lesbian meeting and he responded "Now, you know how I feel

about special interest groups."

"But I really want to do this, Clancy," she replied.

There was a very long pause and then he said: "I have good news

and bad. The good news is that you may speak at the convention.

The bad news is that I will be speaking at the same time."

She responded "That's OK, honey, we won't attract the same

crowd." Her audience roared with laughter.

After hearing Peacock I wanted to catch the 3:30 meeting "Pass

It On - Into the 21st Century." Searcy W. of Texas was speaking

at this meeting. He was Ebby's sponsor. Bill had sent Ebby to

Searcy in Texas and Ebby stayed sober there for some time.

But first I needed some food. After I had some food I decided to

go back to my hotel to rest. I totally forgot that I wanted to

hear Searcy. Another of those little coincidences?

Back in my room I found I couldn't nap, I was too restless. So I

decided to try to reach another of the history buffs who was

staying in the same hotel, Tex Brown of Illinois. I phoned him

and asked if he would join me in the lobby. The inspiration to

call Tex lead to the most exciting part of the convention for

me. Tex was then 83 years old and sober 53 years. He had written

me before the convention saying "I just happened to stumble into

the history forum. I read the post saying that you will be

staying at the Radisson Plaza. So will my wife, Barb, and I. ...

I thought that I might like historians better than archivists. I

guess I need to see what the big boys are like."

Tex got sober Feb. 6, 1947, in Skokie, IL. He was then the

editor of the Area 20 (Northern Illinois Area) service letter,

"NIA Concepts." His delightful wife, Barb, has been sober 21

years. I found Tex a charming, humble, serene, humorous fellow.

He told me some wonderful stories about the early days in the

Chicago area.

Then he scooped me up and took me along with them to sit in the

oldtimers section for the oldtimers meeting at the Metrodome

Saturday night. He seemed to know everybody and made sure that

he introduced me to them all. Among those I met was Mel B. who

has written so much wonderful AA history, and Dr. Jack Norris's

widow.

And what an inspiration all the oldtimers were. Those with more

sobriety date in a Fishing Hat located at the Convention Center

before 1 p.m. on Saturday.

All the meetings in the Metrodome were simultaneously translated

into Spanish, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Polish and

Swedish. Special arrangements were also made for the hearing

impaired. And the HP made sure that the oldtimers meeting would

be truly international. Among the names pulled from the hat were

Mosku from Finland, sober 46 years; Collin from Australia, sober

54 years; and Manual M. from France, sober 40 years.

A little extra time was allowed for the oldtimers from Finland

and France because they were accompanied by interpreters who

repeated in English what they had said. Collin from Australia

complained that they hadn't supplied him with an interpreter,

and there were moments when I wished they had. His Australian

accent was sometimes hard to understand. (Collin visited the

U.S. in 2004 and phoned me from New York. He planned to come to

Virginia, where I am now living, to meet me. But alas I was not

available the only day that he could come to Virginia. It was

not until his phone call that I realized he was the man who had

spoken at the convention.)

Shortly before they started drawing names out of the hat, I was

puzzled to see a procession of about 30 members of the

hospitality committee, wearing their distinctive white caps,

march down the center isle. They then stood in front of the line

of flags below the stage. They drew 15 names out of the hat, and

as each name was called, two of these host committee people

would get on each side of the oldtimer and help him or her onto

the stage. All of this could be seen very clearly on the large

screens around the Metrodome and it was such fun watching them

being escorted up. One of them was wearing a white tuxedo.

Another, whose escorts were two young women, started swinging

them around and dancing with them on the way up.

To make sure that they didn't have another Ruth among these

oldtimers, a man sat on the stage with a large rectangular sign

that said APPLAUSE. When three minutes were up, if they hadn't

stopped speaking, he would walk up behind them with the sign and

the entire convention would break into applause.

The first called to speak was Otto W., 40 years and two months

sober. Otto told how he was visited by two A.A. members while he

was locked up in a mental ward. "They had something I wanted and

I was willing to go to any lengths to get it: MATCHES!" All of

the oldtimers showed this kind of humor.

Marie M., sober 44 years, four months, said a woman had called

her and said she was an alcoholic from A.A. and asked if she

could visit her. "Well, I did not want any alcoholics coming to

MY house." So she said she would go to the A.A.'s house instead.

She rang the door bell and when the A.A. contact opened the door

she announced: "I have two black eyes (as if she couldn't see)."

One of the most inspirational, to my mind (and not because her

name was Nancy and she was from Pennsylvania) was Nancy F.

Nancy, sober 55 years, said there isn't anything you can't do if

you want to after you get sober. "I went to college at 70 ...

and graduated at 80 ... cum laude!"

David Mc. M, sober 43 years, who followed Nancy, said he was 21

when he got sober and was told he was too young to be an

alcoholic. He said he hasn't grown up yet, "but when I do I want

to be just like her," pointing to Nancy.

The last speaker was a tall, handsome black woman, Louise R.,

sober 40 years, who said that they told her if she kept coming

around she would get what they had. So she kept going to

meetings and waiting for them to give her whatever it was they

had.

Finally she asked "When are you going to give me what you have?"

she had a drink during that period. She had not. "So you have

what we have."

"Here I was walking around with it," she said, "and I didn't

know I had it." She said they also kept talking at meetings

about how anybody who didn't have one should buy the Big Book.

It cost $3.50. Well, she didn't WANT to buy no BIG Book. She

didn't want to READ no BIG book. Finally they announced at a

meeting that anyone who didn't have a Big Book could have one

and pay for it when they could. "They think I can't AFFORD the

Big Book." So after the meeting she walked up to the man and

said she wanted the Big Book. She slapped down a five dollar

bill and said "Keep the change."

All of the oldtimers were very inspiring. They wasn't a dull one

in the lot. Murray M., our history buff from Dublin wrote: "The

old-timers meeting was very special. You could not but be moved

by their expressions of love and gratitude. The humour was

unequaled and I think the entire 15 would have stayed there

sharing for hours if time allowed. The member in the white

tuxedo might have summed it all up when the occasion got to

him."

Sunday morning my coffee pot worked just fine. Guess there was

I scooped up my new friend, Rich (who had given me Ruth Hock's

letter to Bill) and his roommate and took them with me to the

handicapped second on the Metrodome floor. This was near where I

had been sitting with Tex the night before. I wanted to take

Rich to that section because I wanted to see Tex again and

introduce Rich to him. But we didn't find Tex. He told me in an

e-mail that he and his wife had been late arriving. He had

looked for me, too, because he wanted to give me some

newsletters from his area.

At this closing meeting the 20 millionth copy of the Big Book

was presented to the fellowship of Al-Anon. There are 30,000

Al-Anon groups world wide.

There were three very inspirational speakers. One of them was

Nancy K, the lead singer for a group called "Sweet Water" in the

'60s. Sweet Water was the first group to take the stage at

Woodstock. "But they cut us out of the movie," she sighed. We

roared with laughter. "You know, only A.A.s laugh when I tell

them that. Everyone else says Ahhhhh, poor thing." Nancy got

sober in 1976 in Los Angeles. "I wore a bikini to my first

meeting," she said. But someone told her she would look better

if she were wearing a towel. If I remember correctly, she had a

bad accident, her vocal cords were damaged, and she lost her

ability to sing. She later became an English teacher. But

eventually her voice returned and she was reunited with some of

the Sweet Water group. There are three still alive, "fatter and

with less hair." They entertained outdoors at the 1995

convention, but they forgot to advertise, so there wasn't the

kind of crowd they'd hoped for. I think it was Nancy who said AA

is like taking wedding vows. "For better or worse, in sickness

or in health, till death do us part, I am a part of AA."

John K. got sober on St. Patrick's Day. (How's that for a

miracle. An Irishman getting sober on St. Patrick's Day?) He

told us of attending a funeral of a boy who had died and the

preacher said "the only way we can change the world is to change

ourselves, and now is the time, because for the boy in the box

it is too late." John's daughter smashed up his new car. She hit

a Mercedes. John's sponsor drove him to the scene of the

accident and all he could think of was himself. Why did she have

to smash MY car? How will I get to work, etc. His daughter was

still in the car, and his sponsor said, "Aren't you going to

check on her?" He went over to the car and his daughter said

"Oh, daddy, give me a hug." "I had to be prompted by my sponsor

to hug my daughter," he said. John asked us to remember that

each alcoholic is a multifaceted, wonderful person. And the only

one that doesn't seem to recognize it is himself.

______

One of the highlights for me Sunday morning was the sobriety

any one who had been sober more

than 65 years to stand. "Has anyone been sober longer than

Bill?" No one stood. "Has anyone been sober 65 years? Please

stand -- it you still can." Sixty-four years? Sixty-three? When

they called "Fifty-five years?" One or more stood. "Keep coming

back," everyone shouted.

The persons with the longest sobriety at the convention had 55.

When they got down to 24 hours, two or more stood.

I'm not one who cries easily, but there were many times during

the convention when I fought back tears. But as we

concluded, and the children of Minneapolis came up and sang for

us We Are Family I began to cry. And then when we stood and

joined hands to say the Serenity Prayer, I broke down

completely.

___________

Postscript:

We were coming back from the Sunday meeting and Rich and his

roommate asked me to join them for lunch. We walked around

looking for a restaurant but they were all mobbed, with hundreds

of people lined up outside to get in, so we went back to our

hotel to have lunch.

While we were strolling around we ran into a man who had a bunch

of pheasant feathers sticking out of a sack. Rich started

chatting with him, and this man gave us each a feather. I did

not want a feather, took it to be polite, and planned to throw

it away as soon as I got back to my room. I stuck into the

opening in my handbag.

Then we had lunch at our hotel and Rich stuck his feather in the

vase of flowers on the table. At one point the waiter came over

and started to take the feather away. I said "Don't take that.

it belongs to my friend."

Shortly after lunch, Rich and his roommate left for the airport

to return home. But I was not leaving until Monday morning. I

was tired and decided to spend the rest of the day in my room

reading. But I began feeling strangely restless, so I decided to

go down to the lobby and find a comfortable chair in which to

sit and read.

So I was sitting in the lobby and I got chatting with a woman

who is in Al-Anon. She and her husband, an A.A. member, were

both at the convention.

She asked me where I got the feather, which was still sticking

out of my handbag. I had "forgotten" to throw it away. I told

her that some man we met on the street had given them to us.

Then she showed me her feather. I said "Oh, you must have met

the same man we did." "No, I did not," she answered, with tears

in her eyes.

Then she told me the following story. Her son, who was also in

A.A., died suddenly about six months earlier. The day I met her

would have been his A.A. anniversary. When she and her husband

came to the convention they felt they were bringing him with

them. And she saw many signs that his spirit indeed was with

them.

After sobering up he had become a nurse. He worked as a

Native Americans. At the convention the first night they were

sitting in the handicapped section and a group of kids came by

with signs saying they were from New Mexico and smiled and waved

at her and her husband. She thought it was a sign from her son.

Then the flag ceremony began and the Indian appeared with his

big staff covered with feathers. She thought of how her son had

loved Native Americans, worked with them, and had at one time

called his Dad to say "They don't have an AA group here. How do

I start one for them?"

Her son (whom she described as a very spiritual, gentle, and

artistic young man) loved feathers, collected them, and made

things from them.

"Then today," she said, "we went up to the third floor for lunch

and in the vase of flowers on the table was this feather. We

knew it was another sign from our son."

Well, I never did throw away my feather. On my computer desk, as

I write, stands a small vase of flowers. A pheasant feather

shoots up from the center.

I am reminded daily of the little anonymous way God works

miracles in our lives.

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++++Message 1701. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: Bert Taylor - Compiled From Old

Posts

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Hi Everybody,

As I understand it, Bert closed his tailor shop and later worked for Saks

Fifth Avenue, which suggests that he must have been a first class tailor.

Mel Barger

~~~~~~~~

Mel Barger

melb@accesstoledo.com

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

From: NMOlson@aol.com

To: AAHistoryLovers@yahoogroups.com

Sent: Thursday, March 11, 2004 8:05 AM

Subject: [AAHistoryLovers] Bert Taylor - Compiled From Old Posts

I am continuing to combine old posts, which are then deleted, in

order to make it easier for researchers to search the archives.

The following is excerpted from old posts by Charles K. and Rick

T.

Charles wrote that Bert Taylor was an early AA member who

prohibitionist. "The loan was to help buy some time from the

printer until the Liberty Magazine article came out. Once that

article came out we sold some books were able to settle with the

printer and get the remaining Big Books out of hock, so to

speak. He also allowed meetings to be held in the loft in his

shop.

"Now whether the debt was not repaid on time or Bert just fell

shop, but was able to keep his business and he died sober. He

also was one of the first Trustees of the Alcoholic Foundation."

Rick responded to Charles' message:

"Much of this additional history was gleaned in on-site research

through minutes and correspondence at the GSO Archives....

"His $1,000 would have brought him 400 shares in Works

Publishing, and I'm sure he was able to cash in the shares, when

and if any of the loan was needed to be paid. There are scant

records on file of whose and how many shares were eventually

traded in to the

Alcoholic Foundation. The AF Trustees' ledgers remained pretty

thin for many years into the mid-1940s, and only a few shares

were probably ever recorded as 'bought back' by the Board of

Trustees. Bill wrote in 'AA Comes of Age'

about a few buy-backs, which turned out to be traded only at

face value."

Rick said he did not think Bert was a Trustee, but Charles

responded:

"I still believe Bert was a member of the Alcoholic Foundation,

only from what I have read.

"In the August 1947 Grapevine article 'Last Seven Years Have

Made AA self-supporting' Bill writes:

"'Two of the alcoholic members of our Foundation traveled out

among the AA groups to explain the need. They presented their

listeners with these ideas: that support of our Central Office

was a definite responsibility of the AA groups; that answering

written inquiries was a necessary assistance to our Twelfth Step

work; that we AAs ought to pay these office expenses ourselves

and rely no further upon outside charity or insufficient book

sales. The two trustees also suggested that the Alcoholic

Foundation be made a regular depository for group funds; that

the Foundation would earmark all group monies for Central Office

expenses only; that each month the Central Office would bill the

Foundation for the straight AA expenses of the place; that all

group contributions ought to be entirely voluntary; that every

AA group would receive equal service from the New York office,

whether it contributed or not. It was estimated that if each

group sent the Foundation a sum equal to $1 per member per year,

this might eventually carry our office, without other

assistance. Under this arrangement the office would ask the

groups twice yearly for funds and render, at the same time, a

statement of its expenses for the previous period.

'"Our two trustees, Horace C. and Bert T., did not come back

empty handed. Now clearly understanding the situation, most

groups began contributing to the Alcoholic Foundation for

Central Office expenses, and have continued to do so ever since.

In this practice the AA Tradition of self-support had a firm

beginning. Thus we handled the Saturday Evening Post article for

which thousands of AAs are today so grateful.' (Reprint of this

article can be found in 'Language of The Heart' see pages 64-65)

"Also from 'AA Comes Of Age'

"Page 186.........

"'At about this time our trusteeship began to be enlarged. Mr.

Robert Shaw, a lawyer and friend of Uncle Dick's, was elected to

the Board. Two New Yorkers, my friends Howard and Bert, were

also named. As time passed, these were joined by Tom B. and Dick

S. Dick had been one of the original Akronites and was now

living in New York. There was also Tom K., a hard-working and

conservative Jerseyman. Somewhat later more nonalcoholic,

notably Bernard Smith and Leonard Harrison, took up their long

season of service with us.'

"(FYI: This was around the time of the Rockefeller Dinner Feb.

1940, this also shows the alcoholic members of the Foundation

made up of more than just Bill & Dr. Bob. I have a copy of the

minutes of the Alcoholic Foundation in July 25, 1949. Dick S.,

Tom B, and Bernard Smith were already trustees of the Foundation

in 1949.)

"Page 192:

"'We also realized that these increased demands upon the office

could not be met out of book income. So for the first time we

asked the A.A. groups to help. Following the Post piece.

Trustees Howard and Bert went on the road, one to Philadelphia

and Washington, the other to Akron and Cleveland. They asked

that all A.A. groups contribute to a special fund in the

Foundation which would be earmarked 'for AA. office expenses

only.' The contributions would be entirely voluntary. As a

measuring stick, it was suggested that each group send in one

dollar per member per year.'

"Please let me repeat myself, I am not sure if this is the same

Bert T. that owned the Tailor Shop in New York, but sure sounds

like it to me. Rick, maybe on your next trip to the Archives in

New York you might look for the name Herbert F. Taylor. Again I

am not sure if this is the same person either, but his name and

signature appears on Works Publishing Company stock certificates

date September 26th 1940 (see 'AA Everywhere-Anywhere' the

souvenir book from the 1995 International Convention page 23)

and Bert is short for Herbert. I also have a photocopy of the

same stock certificate dated June 20th 1940 and his name is on

that one too, as president I might add . May have no connection

at all, but worth looking into.

"Well, I hope this sheds some light on the source for my

assumption that Bert the Tailor might have been a Trustee of the

Alcoholic Foundation. This has open a whole other question about

the early make up of the Alcoholic Foundation and I think I

might explore this to find out what I can."

The following is from Jim Burwell's memoirs:

"It was also in June of this year that we made our first contact

with the Rockerfeller Foundation. This was arranged by Bert

Taylor, one of the older members, who had known the family for

years in a business way. Dr. Richardson, who had long been

spiritual advisor for the Rockerfeller family, became very

interested and friendly, and Bill and Hank made frequent visits

to him, with Hank on one side asking for financial help and Bill

on the other insisting on moral support only."

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This message was scanned by GatewayDefender [4]

8:33:05 AM ET - 3/11/2004

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++++Message 1702. . . . . . . . . . . . Living Sober

From: Arthur . . . . . . . . . . . . 3/12/2004 7:47:00 PM

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Hi

Joanna and a warm welcome back

Mel B noted, the booklet Living Sober was written by NY member Barry Leach. I

could not find a Conference advisory action (in publication M-39) that

explicitly approved it. However, the 1974 Conference passed an advisory action

that stated: "the partial draft of the new booklet 'Staying Sober' be

reviewed by the committee and returned with comments and suggestions to GSO by

June 1, 1974."

AA

Comes of Age (pg xi) states: "1975

members have used for not drinking."

The

1974 advisory action infers that the booklet's title originally was planned as

Sober'' instead of 'Living Sober'' (its opening narrative

"About that title" seems to address this). The first printing

occurred in 1975 and based on the mention in AA Comes of Age, 1975 also

appears

to be its Conference approval year.

booklet's author, Barry L, is historically prominent in two other areas. He

was

among the earliest homosexual members of the AA Fellowship. Barry also was the

concerning a black man who was described as an ex-convict with bleach-blond

hair, wearing women's clothing and makeup (re 'Pass It On'' pgs

317-318). The black man also admitted to being a "dope fiend." He is

reported (in Pass It On) to have disappeared shortly after yet anecdotal

accounts (at least here in Texas) often erroneously say that he went on to

become one of the best 12th Steppers in NY.

The

publication in AA today.

10.0pt;font-family:Tahoma;color:black;">Cheers

Arthur

*From:* Joanna Whitney

[mailto:joannagw@earthlink.net]

*Sent:* Wednesday, March 03, 2004

8:31 AM

*To:*

*Subject:* [AAHistoryLovers] Living

Sober

Hi Group --

returning after a long stay away and glad to see you are all still here. I am

"Courier New";color:black;">really curious about the origins of the

publication Living Sober and

what conference approved

"Courier New";color:black;"> it.

Anybody?

"Courier New";color:black;">

Thanks,

"Courier New";color:black;">

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++++Message 1704. . . . . . . . . . . . AA Historic Sites Near N.Y.C.

From: Lash, William (Bill) . . . . . . . . . . . . 3/12/2004 10:02:00 AM

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General Service Offices of AA (World Service, originally called the Alcoholic

Foundation):

1) 17 Williams Street in Newark, NJ, 'Honor Dealers'' Office; Hank Parkhurst &

Bill Wilson set up the first 'Headquarters'' office. Most of the Big Book is

written here & Ruth Hock (secretary) is the first non-alcoholic employee.

2) 30 Vesey Street, N.Y.C., the second office, Bill splits with Hank.

(1938-1940)

3) 415 Lexington; office moves to Grand Central area after Bill gets Bedford

Hills home. (1940-1944)

4) 141 East 4th Street. More space. (1950-1960)

5) 315 east 45th Street; larger quarters in Grand Central Area. (1960-1970)

6) 468 Park Avenue South, finally occupying 5 floors in two buildings

(including 470 Park Avenue South). (1970-1992)

7) 475 Riverside Drive; all of 11th Floor & half of the 10th Floor.

(1992-present)

Town's Hospital, 293 Central Park West. Bill had many trips to this hospital &

ultimately has a spiritual experience here. Dr. William D. Silkworth (author

of most of the Big Book's 'Doctor's Opinion''), Medical Superintendent,

treated 40,000 alcoholics here.

Calvery Church/House, 21st Street & Park Avenue South. Where Bill attended

Oxford Group meetings & got sober along with Ebby T., Rowland H., Cebra G.,

Hank P. and all the gang. Sam Shoemaker, source of 'the Steps & all the

spiritual principles via the Oxford Group'' was the pastor here.

38 Livingston Street, Brooklyn. Bill's home during the high-flying years

working on Wall Street. They were so rich that they combined two apartments

here.

182 Clinton Street, Brooklyn. Bill's home when he got sober. A gift of Lois's

30 Rockefeller Plaza. Where Bill met 'Uncle Dick'' Richardson, conduit to John

D. Rockefeller. Bill sat in Rockefeller's chair on the 66th Floor office of

John D.

Conferences.

Park Omni, Seventh Avenue & 56th Street. Site of General Service Conferences.

New York Hilton, 1335 Avenue of the Americas. Site of the Bill W. Dinner, put

on every year by the New York Intergroup since 1945.

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++++Message 1705. . . . . . . . . . . . Burwell Correspondence and Memoirs

From: NMOlson@aol.com . . . . . . . . . . . . 3/13/2004 2:30:00 AM

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In an effort to reduce the large number of posts which must be searched to

find information, I am combining many that we previously posted singly. This

is a compilation of the letters to and from Jim Burwell, plus his memoirs. The

Philadelphia letters and the memoirs were originally posted by Bill L.

(Barefoot Bill), and the other letters were mailed to me a few years ago by

Cliff B. in Texas. My thanks to them both.

Nancy

W.G.W.

New York 17, N.Y.

March 1, 1940

Dear Jimmy:

I hear Fitz came to join you at the first meeting of A.A. in Philadelphia -

how was the meeting?

It seems impossible to dig up any bona fide requests for assistance in the

territory around Philadelphia. Here is one though that might (undoubtedly

will) cause some inconvenience, but sounds like it might turn out to be

something.

Mrs. Arthur W. Corning, Apt. G-41, Blind Brook Lodge, N.Y. wrote to us

concerning her brother - Joseph Hoopes - who is now in the state hospital at