Though the precise date of June 10, 1935 has been the subject of some dispute, there has been no dispute among members of the A.A. Fellowship that Alcoholics Anonymous was founded by Bill W. and Dr. Bob at the Smith Home on 855 Ardmore Avenue in Akron, Ohio in June of 1935. When the cofounders helped a third man (Bill Dotson)to seek God's help and attain recovery, the date was July 4, 1935; and Bill Wilson proclaimed that to be the date of the founding of the first A.A. Group--Akron Number One.
The facts about how A.A. got to the founding point are scarcely known by many AAs because those facts are not covered in the "basic text" of A.A. that Bill Wilson and his partner published four years later in 1939.
For that reason, I thoroughly researched the real origins of Akron A.A., received the endorsement of the children of Dr. Bob and others who were present at that time. The result was the book "The Akron Genesis of Alcoholics Anonymous" www.dickb.com/Akron.shtml.
For an accurate, thorough, and valuable work on just how Akron A.A. came to be, this book, The Akron Genesis of Alcoholics Anonymous, is the book you would enjoy reading and studying.
In brief, it covers a number of founding factors which were later elaborated upon in other titles written by me on A.A.'s founding. However, in summary, the factors were these:
1. Russell Firestone, one of the heirs of the famous Firestone Tire & Rubber dynasty, was a seemingly hopeless drunk.
2. Russell's father, Harvey Firestone, Sr., had spent a great deal of time in Florida with his friends Henry Ford and Thomas Alva Edison. While there, he met a brilliant young man named James Draper Newton who had been assisting Edison when visitors came to meet the famed inventor.
3. Firestone, Sr., was so taken with the abilities of Newton that he brought Newton to Akron and was grooming him to become head of the rubber company. And during his time in Akron, Newton became a good friend of Russell Firestone--at first not knowing about Russell's severe problem with alcoholism.
4. Newton was a staunch "member" of the Oxford Group at that time, was a friend of Oxford Group founder Dr. Frank N.D. Buchman, and of the American Oxford Group leader, Rev. Samuel M. Shoemaker, Jr. And Jim Newton arranged to have Russell, Russell's father, and Newton himself travel with Sam Shoemaker on a train trip to an Episcopal Conference in Denver. Meanwhile, Russell was drinking heavily all the while.
5. On the return trip to Akron, Shoemaker took Russell into a train compartment. There he led Russell Firestone to a decision for Jesus Christ. And Russell was healed. I have seen the diaries of Shoemaker and of Newton and they confirm the foregoing details. And, by the time the train arrived in Akron, the family doctor pronounced Russell's recovery a miracle.
6. For two years Russell and Jim Newton traveled together as Oxford Group activists and witnessed in many locations. Finally, in 1933, the Firestone family was so elated with Russell's success in overcoming drinking that they brought Oxford Group founder Dr. Frank Buchman to Akron to celebrate and witness. Buchman and some 30 Oxford Group people took over the Protestant pulpits and other places in Akron. They gave Christian testimonies and were joined by Russell who spoke of his rebirth, his Bible study, and his victory over alcohol. Most of these facts were widely reported in Akron newspapers, whose articles I have personally read.
7. Aware of Dr. Bob's drinking problem and also having problems of her own, Henrietta Seiberling (wife of one of the Seiberling family members, and an Oxford Group enthusiast, Christian, and Bible student)persuaded Dr. Bob's wife, and two other ladies to come and hear the 1933 testimonials. The four ladies were persuaded that God could help Dr. Bob. They also persuaded T. Henry Williams, husband of one of the ladies, to help them form a small Oxford Group, which later moved to the home of T. Henry.
8. And it was at the small meeting at the home of T. Henry and Clarace Williams in Akron that Dr. Bob admitted he was a "secret drinker." When asked if he would like to pray, Dr. Bob said, "Yes." And he and the group knelt on the rug and prayed for his deliverance.
9. There is much much more to the Akron story. And it is covered in The Akron Genesis of Alcoholics Anonymous. It details the contributions of Dr. Bob, Henrietta Seiberling, Dr. Bob's wife, T. Henry and Clarace Williams, and Bill Wilson who seemed, in Henrietta's view, to have been the answer to their prayers when he called out of the blue and sought to work with another drunk. That drunk was Dr. Bob.
For the full details, read The Akron Genesis of Alcoholics Anonymous www.dickb.com/Akron.shtml.
Dick B., dickb@dickb.com, www.dickb.com
Showing posts with label aahistory-Anne Smith. Show all posts
Showing posts with label aahistory-Anne Smith. Show all posts
Monday, May 30, 2011
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
AAHistory: Where to find the documents and see them
In the 21 years since I first began traveling, interviewing, visiting archives and libraries, and reading the books really involved in A.A. history, things have changed.
Today, both histories and historians abound. Yet access to the materials which can verify the writings is seldom sought. Nor are the locations very much discussed or known. Nor do writers meticulously document their historical statements with footnotes, bibliographies, indices, and endorsements. Many just write. And with the internet providing so many outlets, it is not hard to find what they write.
But suppose you wanted to verify their work. Suppose you wanted to investigate for yourself. Suppose you wanted copies of the real materials that would support or disprove their writings. Could you succeed?
Well here's what I know from having visited so many of the places where a wide variety of historical materials lie awaiting the searcher.
The Griffith Library at the Wilson House in East Dorset, Vermont. Before Ozzie Lepper died, he devoted years to building a library, collecting books, and even cataloguing them. The library is across the green from the Wilson House in the Griffith House where Bill Wilson was raised as a youngster. You can stay at the Wilson House and visit. You can stop and visit. And you can have your fill. My own collection of some 23,900 items was, thanks to benefactors, donated to the Griffith Library; and it will keep you busy for months on end. Books and items are still being donated and/or collected.
The Dr. Bob Core Library at the North Congregational Church of St. Johnsbury, Vermont. My son Ken and I made two separate visits to this charming village where Dr. Bob was born and raised. We tried to leave no repository untouched. We visited Dr. Bob's boyhood home, but there was little to see or collect. We visited the St. Johnsbury Academy which was attended by Dr. Bob, where Bob's mother had been a student and a teacher and a historian, and where Bob's father had been an examiner. The archivist there opened the doors to scads of history about the Smiths. We visited the Athenaeum, the town library where Dr. Bob studied and visited. It is filled with good library materials and the resources to find and study them. We spent hours in the North Congregational Church where there are many records about the Smiths, their activities in the church, the sermons, the Sunday School teachings, the Year Books, and much much more about the members and their service. We obtained materials from the Fairbanks Museum across the street. And we marched into the Town Hall and obtained a copy of Dr. Bob's birth certificate. And we procured many books about this community, its famous families, and its Great Awakening of 1875. We lodged over 3000 items in the church thanks to its Pastor Jay Sprout. And you can go there, visit, read, study, and learn.
The Shoemaker Room at Calvary Episcopal Church in Pittsburgh. From the Episcopal Church Archives in Texas; from the Princeton archives; from Hartford Seminary Archives; from Shoemaker's church in New York; from the Shoemaker daughters; from the widow of Shoemaker's assistant minister; and from many who knew Shoemaker and wrote about him, we gathered as many Shoemaker books and papers as we could find. And, thanks to the rector, Dr. Harold Lewis, they are now lodged in the church. And Professor Karen A. Plavan is the contact person, and there is also an archivist who knew Shoemaker.
These three places, plus a visit to the Akron Intergroup Archives, the Annex at Dr. Bob's Home in Akron, to the former archivist Ray G., to the Bierce Library, to the Summit Library, to the Akron Beacon Journal, to the Seiberling Gate Lodge, and to historian Gail L. should provide ample additional material on Akron--even though most of the materials there are under glass and lock and key and not that easy either to study or to copy. Not so as to the materials Ray G. has collected over many years. He is a gracious host and a learned "teacher."
In the next article, I will list the books I have written which describe all these materials and make them come alive when you read about them and the place they have in A.A. History.
Today, both histories and historians abound. Yet access to the materials which can verify the writings is seldom sought. Nor are the locations very much discussed or known. Nor do writers meticulously document their historical statements with footnotes, bibliographies, indices, and endorsements. Many just write. And with the internet providing so many outlets, it is not hard to find what they write.
But suppose you wanted to verify their work. Suppose you wanted to investigate for yourself. Suppose you wanted copies of the real materials that would support or disprove their writings. Could you succeed?
Well here's what I know from having visited so many of the places where a wide variety of historical materials lie awaiting the searcher.
The Griffith Library at the Wilson House in East Dorset, Vermont. Before Ozzie Lepper died, he devoted years to building a library, collecting books, and even cataloguing them. The library is across the green from the Wilson House in the Griffith House where Bill Wilson was raised as a youngster. You can stay at the Wilson House and visit. You can stop and visit. And you can have your fill. My own collection of some 23,900 items was, thanks to benefactors, donated to the Griffith Library; and it will keep you busy for months on end. Books and items are still being donated and/or collected.
The Dr. Bob Core Library at the North Congregational Church of St. Johnsbury, Vermont. My son Ken and I made two separate visits to this charming village where Dr. Bob was born and raised. We tried to leave no repository untouched. We visited Dr. Bob's boyhood home, but there was little to see or collect. We visited the St. Johnsbury Academy which was attended by Dr. Bob, where Bob's mother had been a student and a teacher and a historian, and where Bob's father had been an examiner. The archivist there opened the doors to scads of history about the Smiths. We visited the Athenaeum, the town library where Dr. Bob studied and visited. It is filled with good library materials and the resources to find and study them. We spent hours in the North Congregational Church where there are many records about the Smiths, their activities in the church, the sermons, the Sunday School teachings, the Year Books, and much much more about the members and their service. We obtained materials from the Fairbanks Museum across the street. And we marched into the Town Hall and obtained a copy of Dr. Bob's birth certificate. And we procured many books about this community, its famous families, and its Great Awakening of 1875. We lodged over 3000 items in the church thanks to its Pastor Jay Sprout. And you can go there, visit, read, study, and learn.
The Shoemaker Room at Calvary Episcopal Church in Pittsburgh. From the Episcopal Church Archives in Texas; from the Princeton archives; from Hartford Seminary Archives; from Shoemaker's church in New York; from the Shoemaker daughters; from the widow of Shoemaker's assistant minister; and from many who knew Shoemaker and wrote about him, we gathered as many Shoemaker books and papers as we could find. And, thanks to the rector, Dr. Harold Lewis, they are now lodged in the church. And Professor Karen A. Plavan is the contact person, and there is also an archivist who knew Shoemaker.
These three places, plus a visit to the Akron Intergroup Archives, the Annex at Dr. Bob's Home in Akron, to the former archivist Ray G., to the Bierce Library, to the Summit Library, to the Akron Beacon Journal, to the Seiberling Gate Lodge, and to historian Gail L. should provide ample additional material on Akron--even though most of the materials there are under glass and lock and key and not that easy either to study or to copy. Not so as to the materials Ray G. has collected over many years. He is a gracious host and a learned "teacher."
In the next article, I will list the books I have written which describe all these materials and make them come alive when you read about them and the place they have in A.A. History.
The Purported Anne Smith Journal Materials "Hindsfoot" Published
The following brief message was sent by me to the email address specified on Glenn Chesnut's "Hindsfoot" Website which has published two purported papers, said to be Anne Smith's Journal--one part typed, and one part handwritten. Of course, there is no such document; and by making the claims, Hindsfoot and the writer ignore the actual manuscript, ignore the fact that I procured it from A.A. General Services with permission of the Archivist and Trustees, and ignore the fact that one of the two purported documents has stamped on it: "From the Research Collection of Dick B." with my address.
Had I not just written extensively on what Anne Ripley Smith actually did write in her journal, and also on the book I published about it--"Anne Smith's Journal, 1933-1939"--I might not have noticed this misleading material.
Certainly the real Anne Ripley Smith papers are treasures, and here is what I wrote to the email address on Chesnut's site:
"Some day it would be interesting to learn where you obtained the two sets of papers which you denominate as Anne Smith’s Journal.
I note with some interest your inclusion of the stamp which says it came from the Research Collection of Dick B. with my address. However,
nobody asked my permission to print any of it, and the statements about who typed the “typed” portions are erroneous.
Moreover, your separating “typed” pages from “handwritten” pages does not correctly reflect the fact that Anne’s handwritten annotations can be found on many
of the typewritten pages.
I also note that you used the title of my book Anne Smith’s Journal, 1933-1939 without citation or attribution.
Will these erroneous situations be rectified, or is Chesnut unwilling to print the true document or the accurate facts about the papers, which I obtained from General Services Archives in New York with the permission of the Trustees. And that I compared them with the copy I found at Stepping Stones Archives. And that I compared the materials with Sue Smith Windows and later found some of the
missing pages and sent them to her before she died."
Purported "historical" "documents" are neither historical nor historical documents when they don't exist as portrayed. And Anne's writings are far too important to be handled incorrectly and inaccurately. See my book: Anne Smith's Journal 1933-1939 www.dickb.com/annesm.shtml. Also the articles I have recently posted on this blog site of mine about Anne, "the Mother of A.A." as Bill Wilson called her.
Dick B., PO Box 837, Kihei, HI 96753-0837
Had I not just written extensively on what Anne Ripley Smith actually did write in her journal, and also on the book I published about it--"Anne Smith's Journal, 1933-1939"--I might not have noticed this misleading material.
Certainly the real Anne Ripley Smith papers are treasures, and here is what I wrote to the email address on Chesnut's site:
"Some day it would be interesting to learn where you obtained the two sets of papers which you denominate as Anne Smith’s Journal.
I note with some interest your inclusion of the stamp which says it came from the Research Collection of Dick B. with my address. However,
nobody asked my permission to print any of it, and the statements about who typed the “typed” portions are erroneous.
Moreover, your separating “typed” pages from “handwritten” pages does not correctly reflect the fact that Anne’s handwritten annotations can be found on many
of the typewritten pages.
I also note that you used the title of my book Anne Smith’s Journal, 1933-1939 without citation or attribution.
Will these erroneous situations be rectified, or is Chesnut unwilling to print the true document or the accurate facts about the papers, which I obtained from General Services Archives in New York with the permission of the Trustees. And that I compared them with the copy I found at Stepping Stones Archives. And that I compared the materials with Sue Smith Windows and later found some of the
missing pages and sent them to her before she died."
Purported "historical" "documents" are neither historical nor historical documents when they don't exist as portrayed. And Anne's writings are far too important to be handled incorrectly and inaccurately. See my book: Anne Smith's Journal 1933-1939 www.dickb.com/annesm.shtml. Also the articles I have recently posted on this blog site of mine about Anne, "the Mother of A.A." as Bill Wilson called her.
Dick B., PO Box 837, Kihei, HI 96753-0837
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