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From: Tom Hickcox . . . . . . . . . . . . 1/21/2006 9:25:00 PM
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++++Message 3091. . . . . . . . . . . . Circle and Triangle
From: J. Carey Thomas . . . . . . . . . . . . 1/22/2006 6:55:00 PM
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Folks,
At an Aero show in Lantana, Florida, I observed a reconstruction
of a Civil Air Patrol (CAP on the fuselage) airplane used to spot
submarines off the Florida coast in the early 1940's. This plane had a
circle surrounding a (solid) triangle as the logo for this operation.
My informant wasn't sure of the exact dates these planes were
used, but agreed that it was early in the second world war.
In love of service,
_\|/_
(o o)
-----------o00-(_)-00o-----------carey----------
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++++Message 3092. . . . . . . . . . . . 4 or 6 years sober on page 192 in
1st printing?
From: Robert Stonebraker . . . . . . . . . . . . 1/22/2006 12:13:00 PM
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Question on quote from Dr. Bob's Nightmare
My first edition, 16th printing, Big Book states on page on page 192:
"That
was June 10, 1935, and that was my last drink. As I write nearly six years
have passed."
Of course, the Big Book was written in 1938 and 39, so only "nearly
four
years" would have passed when Dr. Bob wrote this article.
My second edition also states six years (p. 180), but my third and fourth
editions state four years (p. 180).
I thought that probably this mistake had been corrected when the third
edition was published in 1976, but my first edition, first printing, replica
from Anonymous Press states four years! So my question is this: Did the
original first printing of the first edition use the number four or six on
page 192?
Thank you for your research and answer.
Bob S., Richmond, IN
The "Anonymous press" first printing says 4 years
The first edition says 6 years
The second edition says 6 years!
The third edition says 4 years
The fourth edition says 4 years
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++++Message 3093. . . . . . . . . . . . Re:Quote from Dr. Bob''s Nightmare
From: Mel Barger . . . . . . . . . . . . 1/23/2006 2:20:00 PM
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Hi Bob,
I have an original copy of the First Edition. It says, "As I write,
nearly
four years have passed." It's obvious that somewhere along the line,
when six
years had passed, somebody took the liberty of changing it. However, they
went
back to four years in the 3rd and 4th editions.
Mel Barger
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++++Message 3094. . . . . . . . . . . . Steering Committees at the Group
level
From: Mike Breedlove . . . . . . . . . . . . 1/23/2006 7:09:00 PM
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Greetings fellow AA History Lovers:
Could you please help me understand the origins of steering committees at
the group level? I checked the AAHistoryLovers archive of messages and got
several "hits" for steering committee, but the references are
actually to
Intergroup or District Level Steering Committees, not to group steering
committees. Of course I could easily have missed something.
Does anyone have an idea of when the first group level steering committee
might have started, in which section of the country, and why? If anyone
knows anything about the history of how a steering committee started in
their town or city I would be interested in hearing about it, and would be
willing to compile that information for the list.
Please reply to me with any information you might have, and with any
documentation you might possess, to my email address, mikeb415@knology.net
(mikeb415 at knology.net),
not to the list as a whole.
This next question is a very broad one, and perhaps to some extent
unanswerable. Does anyone know if there is a steering committee being formed
very early and then changing its modus operandi when the traditons appeared.
Again, reply to me at my email address, mikeb415@knology.net (mikeb415 at
knology.net), not to the list.
Thanks very much for any assistance you might give.
Peace, Mike B., Prattville, Alabama
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++++Message 3095. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: The Dr. Howard/Hank P.
manuscript
From: ricktompkins . . . . . . . . . . . . 1/24/2006 9:30:00 PM
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The "Printer's draft" manuscript of the Big Book was sold in June
2004 for 1.56
million dollars, through a telephone bid from California to the auction site
in
NYC. Bill P. of Hazelden Press verified its authenticity at the time, after
his
report of viewing the entire manuscript on what we know as our 'first 164
pages.' From what I have learned, this one manuscript was brought to
Cornwall
Press in the Nyack, New York area of the Hudson River valley in February
1939---the linotype operators made the galleys of Alcoholics Anonymous from
this
draft.
$1.56 million is a great deal of private money, but I wonder if the artifact
will ever be shown to the general AA public. Such a shame! even the AA
Archives
at GSO stayed away from the auction fracas, with AAWS having no opinion on
this
outside issue: the fiscal speculation of AA archival items.
The manuscript was the property of Barry L., confidant of Lois and the
writer of
AAWS' Living Sober in 1973. Lois gave it to him the mid-1970s and Barry's
grand-nephew put it up on the auction block last year
Honestly, I was saddened that the nephew never considered contributing it to
the
AA Archives at GSO, even with its potential tax write-off.
In serenity,
Rick, Illinois
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++++Message 3096. . . . . . . . . . . . RE: AA Corporations?
From: ArtSheehan . . . . . . . . . . . . 1/25/2006 1:46:00 PM
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Hi Charlie
Your assertion about AA's corporate entities that "In effect, they are
temporary, albeit long-lived, committees which could all be thrown
away and Alcoholics Anonymous would still exist" seems a bit cavalier.
What I read in AA history and literature indicates very much the
contrary.
Given the Fellowship-wide "essential" service duties defined for
these
corporations (GSB, AAWS, GV) in AA's Traditions and Concepts, it would
require approval of 75% of all known AA groups worldwide (in writing)
to alter the Traditions and Concepts to allow them to be "thrown
away"
(see the last item in this posting).
The practice of forming an incorporated (or equivalent) General
Service Board, General Service Office, and corporate publishing
entities with a corresponding General Service Conference oversight,
has extended well beyond that of the US/Canada to numerous countries
overseas (I believe there are more than 50). If these were all "thrown
away" I doubt AA, as we know it, would long survive and would likely
dissolve into a number of factions. There are so many members with
intense, and intransigent, convictions on what AA "ought to be."
Plus
the general nature of the prevailing public rhetoric these days is so
critically harsh and vitriolic toward opposing viewpoints, I really
couldn't imagine what "would still exist" that would be labeled
"Alcoholics Anonymous."
The AA Service Manual (which can be downloaded from the aa.org web
site) contains history and explanations of how the various AA
corporations came to be and how they function. There is also a concise
explanation in the pamphlet "The AA Group"(which can be downloaded
from aa.org web site as well).
First off, it would be useful to begin with the premise that the word
"corporation" is neither a bad word or a pejorative. Corporations
are
the primary means for "separating the material from the
spiritual."
Incorporation has been an integral part of AA since 1938 to establish
legal (i.e. lawful or official) entities that hold in trust all of
AA's assets in behalf of the entire Fellowship. Those assets include
literature inventories and copyrights, trademarks and logos and funds
from donations and literature sales.
Among the trademarks and logos held in trust are "AA"
"Alcoholics
Anonymous" "The Big Book" "Box 4-5-9" "The
Grapevine" "GV" "Box 1980"
and "La Vina" (you were seeking info on this in a different
posting -
re the Service Manual, Chapter 10).
In Apr 1947, Bill W sent a paper to the Alcoholic Foundation titled
"Our AA General Service Center - The Alcoholic Foundation of
Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow." It outlined a history of the
Foundation and recommended implementation of a General Service
Conference. Bill W wrote
"In Part One of this Foundation story we saw how an informal group of
early AA's and their non-alcoholic friends banded together in 1938 to
spread the AA message as best they could; how this group formed The
Alcoholic Foundation, and how some of them became its first Trustees.
We saw how the Foundation helped Dr Bob and me through difficult
years; how the book "Alcoholics Anonymous" and the AA Office came
into
being and how, later, the Foundation acquired ownership of the AA
book. We observed that the Foundation was chosen by the Groups in
1941, as custodian of their voluntary contributions for the support of
the AA General Service Office at New York. We also have learned that,
more recently, the Foundation assumed a responsibility for
effectiveness and integrity of THE AA GRAPEVINE and that some time ago
the AA Groups designated the Foundation Trustees as the overseers of
our general public relations. Then early last year, on publication of
"The Alcoholics Anonymous Tradition - Twelve Points to Assure Our
Future," the Trustees of The Alcoholic Foundation were named the
Custodians of these traditions as well.
Such has been the gradual process of evolution and common consent by
which the Foundation Trustees have come to be regarded, first
nationally, and now internationally, as THE GENERAL SERVICE BOARD OF
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS - Custodians of AA Tradition, General Policy and
Headquarters Funds."
In the April 1946 Grapevine article, mentioned by Bill W, titled
"Twelve Suggested Points for AA Tradition" (which later became the
long form of the Traditions) Bill acknowledged the importance of the
corporate entities of the Alcoholic Foundation and Grapevine and what
was then called "AA General Headquarters and today called
"GSO" [I've
truncated the wording for emphasis]:
4 ... no group, regional committee or individual should ever take any
action that might greatly affect AA as a whole without conferring with
the Trustees of The Alcoholic Foundation. On such issues our common
welfare is paramount.
6 Problems of money, property and authority may easily divert us from
our primary spiritual aim. We think, therefore, that any considerable
property of genuine use to AA should be separately incorporated and
managed, thus dividing the material from the spiritual ...
9 ... The trustees of The Alcoholic Foundation are, in effect, our
General Service Committee. They are the custodians of our AA tradition
and the receivers of voluntary AA contributions by which they maintain
AA General Headquarters and our General Secretary at New York. They
are authorized by the groups to handle our overall public relations
and they guarantee the integrity of our principal publication, The AA
Grapevine ...
In April 1962 the Conference approved the "Twelve Concepts for World
Service." Bill further acknowledges the importance of the corporate
entities in several of the long form Concepts:
III. As a traditional means of creating and maintaining a clearly
defined working relation between the groups, the Conference, the AA
General Service Board and its several service corporations, staffs,
committees and executives, and of thus insuring their effective
leadership, it is here suggested that we endow each of these elements
of world service with a traditional "Right of Decision."
VI. On behalf of AA as a whole, our General Service Conference has the
principal responsibility for the maintenance of our world services,
and it traditionally has the final decision respecting large matters
of general policy and finance. But the Conference also recognizes that
the chief initiative and the active responsibility in most of these
matters should be exercised primarily by the Trustee members of the
Conference when they act among themselves as the General Service Board
of Alcoholics Anonymous.
VII. The Conference recognizes that the Charter and the Bylaws of the
General Service Board are legal instruments: that the Trustees are
thereby fully empowered to manage and conduct all of the world service
affairs of Alcoholics Anonymous. It is further understood that the
Conference Charter itself is not a legal document: that it relies
instead upon the force of tradition and the power of the AA purse for
its final effectiveness.
VIII. The Trustees of the General Service Board act in two primary
capacities: (a) With respect to the larger matters of over-all policy
and finance, they are the principal planners and administrators. They
and their primary committees directly manage these affairs. (b) But
with respect to our separately incorporated and constantly active
services, the relation of the Trustees is mainly that of full stock
ownership and of custodial oversight which they exercise through their
ability to elect all directors of these entities.
IX. Good service leaders, together with sound and appropriate methods
of choosing them, are at all levels indispensable for our future
functioning and safety. The primary world service leadership once
exercised by the founders of AA must necessarily be assumed by the
Trustees of the General Service Board of Alcoholics Anonymous.
X. Every service responsibility should be matched by an equal service
authority -- the scope of such authority to be always well defined
whether by tradition, by resolution, by specific job description or by
appropriate charters and bylaws.
XI. While the Trustees hold final responsibility for AA's world
service administration, they should always have the assistance of the
best possible standing committees, corporate service directors,
executives, staffs, and consultants. Therefore the composition of
these underlying committees and service boards, the personal
qualifications of their members, the manner of their induction into
service, the systems of their rotation, the way in which they are
related to each other, the special rights and duties of our
executives, staffs, and consultants, together with a proper basis for
the financial compensation of these special workers, will always be
matters for serious care and concern.
In Apr 1969 at the 19th General service Conference, Bob H, the newly
chosen general manager of GSO summarized AA's service structure and
the relationship of its parts "To sum up: the Board formulates policy;
the Conference approves policy; and GSO implements policy."
The 1976 Conference (and prior Conferences) expanded a 1955 provision
of the Conference Charter to specify that any change to the Steps,
Traditions or Concepts and 6 Warranties of Article 12 of the General
Service Conference Charter, would require written approval of 75% of
the AA Groups worldwide. The Conference Advisory Action makes any
change whatsoever to the Steps, Traditions, Concepts and Warranties a
virtual impossibility (even so much as adding or removing a comma).
They are our "Three Legacies" of Recovery, Unity and Service,
which
we are supposed to pass on - not "throw away."
Cheers
Arthur
-----Original Message-----
From: AAHistoryLovers@yahoogroups.com
[mailto:AAHistoryLovers@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Charlie Bishop
Jr.
Sent: Tuesday, January 17, 2006 4:30 PM
To: AAHistoryLovers@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [AAHistoryLovers] AA Corporations?
Hi all: help needed on below:
//The following are all CORPORATIONS: Alcoholics Anonymous World
Services, Inc.; the General Service Board of Alcoholics Anonymous,
Inc.; and the Alcoholics Anonymous Grapevine, Inc. They are service
organizations and corporations whose purpose and existence is to serve
the Fellowship. In effect, they are temporary, albeit long-lived,
committees which could all be thrown away and Alcoholics Anonymous
would still exist. Historically speaking, what group or body of AA
members had the authority to form these three corporations? How would
they have to be called together if they ever wished to vote on
dismantling or discarding these corporations? Is provision made for
dismantling and discarding any of these corporations in the Twelve
Concepts, and who is given the power to take this action in the Twelve
Concepts?/
Thanks, servus, Charlie B.
"Charlie Bishop Jr." = (bishopbk at
comcast.net)
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Yahoo! Groups Links
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++++Message 3097. . . . . . . . . . . . RE: Announcing outside events during
AA meetings
From: Joe Nugent . . . . . . . . . . . . 1/26/2006 8:38:00 AM
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Hi,
If the dance is being put on by AA not a problem.
Joe
_____
From: AAHistoryLovers@yahoogroups.com
[mailto:AAHistoryLovers@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Gotogo2002L@aol.com
Sent: Saturday, January 21, 2006 10:54 PM
To: AAHistoryLovers@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [AAHistoryLovers] Announcing outside events during AA meetings
Hi All
Can alcoholics announce there will be a sober dance following the AA
meeting, when we want to have a dance in the same hall?
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