The History of Alcoholics Anonymous

In Fort Worth, Texas

Northeast Texas Area 65 (NETA) Archives

Foreword

The core of this history was originally written in 1975 by Bill H., of the Harbor Group in Fort Worth. Bill passed away on September 2, 1976. Bill first concluded that A.A. began in Fort Worth in 1943. In 1975, V.J. of Group One in Fort Worth discovered material showing that A.A. started in Fort Worth in 1941. The discovery was based on copies of letters they obtained from the GSO Archives. Bill also had help from several other sources in gathering material. One was the reference files at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Other material came from GSO and pioneer A.A. members in Fort Worth: Ralph R., Lou G., Jack W. and Joe C. (all deceased).

The goal of this document is to preserve this early work and, where possible, add factual information to help define both the start and growth of A.A. in the Fort Worth area.

Transcripts of news articles from the early 1940’s have been included into this history. One is from The Harbor Club archives, the others are from the GSO Archives Scrapbooks.

The section on the Fort Worth A.A. Central Office is a transcription of a history originally written December 6, 1986. Only minor editing changes have been made Acknowledgments

Special thanks are extended to:

The Harbor Club The Fort Worth A.A. Central Office The Collection of the General Service Board of Alcoholics Anonymous.

1941

The pioneer A.A. member in Fort Worth was likely a man named George McL. (he passed away on March 9, 1946). George wrote to the Alcohol Foundation (the predecessor to our General Service Office) in New York on May 25, 1941.

He gave his address as 1710 Washington on Fort Worth’s South Side and wrote:

Referring to the article by Jack Alexander in the March 1st issue of the Saturday Evening Post, I wish to start this work here, or if someone has already done so, to be put in touch with them. I quit drinking about two years ago with one relapse and a million temptations since. It ruined my life, killed my wife and put me on relief. Am now recovering from ten operations for cancer, am 57 years old and by the grace of God, intend to devote the rest of my life to His work. I thank you for whatever information you may be able to give me.

George’s sobriety date cannot be established – only that he had one relapse between 1939 and May 1941. At the time George wrote to New York the only known A.A. Group in Texas was in Houston (it was established in January 1940).

However, A.A. membership worldwide mushroomed in 1941 from 2,000 to 8,000. Much credit for the surge of growth is given to the famous March 1941 Jack Alexander article about A.A. in the Saturday Evening Post (George McL. refers to the article in his letter).1

George later wrote a letter to New York dated July 24, 1941 which said:

I am happy to report that I have the A.A. well on its way in Fort Worth. At our meeting last night we had seven members, one from St. Louis and one from Chicago. We have three of your books here.

The next letter from George was dated Aug. 28, 1941. He wrote to New York that Fort Worth’s A.A. group had grown to eleven members and asked:

“Can you give me any idea as to procedure in meetings?”

And he posed another query.

What about women, so far we have none but will?

A.A. published census reports in the early 1940’s. The December 1941 census showed Fort Worth A.A. had twelve members and listed the Group Secretary as George McL.

The Fort Worth Press news articles that follow give a depiction of early A.A. activity.

The man cited as “Bill” is believed to be George Mc L. As will be seen in other news articles later, many early members extended anonymity to not even revealing their first names. The reference to the “member from Chicago” corresponds to George’s July 1941 letter to New York.

The Fort Worth Press 2 (circa 1941)

Elbow Benders Here Rally to Bill’s Call, Urge Fort Worth Chapter of Alcoholics Anonymous

By Lee Roy Manuel

Bill, the anonymous ex-alcoholic who wants to organize Fort Worth fellow sufferers into a non-drinking society, had plenty of offers of help today.

A former Chicago member of Alcoholics Anonymous dropped by to proffer his services. He has “slipped a little” since leaving Chicago, he admitted, and is anxious to get a group started here.

A Fort Worth salesman who has lost three good jobs in recent months, asked for the privilege of joining. “If I ever take one drink, I’m a goner,” he said. “I need help from fellows who understand.”

There were numerous calls by telephone, asking for Bill’s address. All wanted to help form a local chapter of Alcoholics Anonymous – to unite a group of congenial ex-alcoholics who would discourage themselves from elbow bending.

“I went to Illinois seeking a liquor cure,” said the man from Chicago. “A psychiatrist, seeing little hope for me, urged that I drop in on the local chapter of the Alcoholics Anonymous.”

“You could hardly call the members bums. One was a big newspaper editor, another business executive of national reputation. The latter used to have us join him at his expensive apartment beside Lake Michigan for some parties. Everyone drank coffee.”

“Unhappily, I didn’t make good in my Chicago business and once I left them, I started drinking again. I’m making very good money in Fort Worth, but I must stop drinking. I think we can start a local chapter here to everyone’s benefit.”

He was given Bill’s address.

The next newspaper article reports further on the member named “Bill”. The reference to the “death of his wife” as well as his general circumstances seems to correspond to George’s original letter to New York in May 1941.

The Fort Worth Press 3 (circa 1941)

Alcoholics Anonymous Chapter Formed Here to Help Drinkers

By Lee Roy Manuel

Call him Bill, if you will – a mild-mannered, elderly man with thinning hair. Bill hasn’t very much left to live for. His family is gone and the fortune he built up as a youth has long since vanished.

So with leisure that is almost a curse, Bill today is trying to start a local chapter of the strangest society in existence – a society of ex-alcoholics who devote their time to keeping other alcoholics off drink.

Bill, once a lusty drinker, himself has been a teetotaler three years and the scheme is no wild dream of his own device.

The national society loosely knitted and without dues, officers or any of the other usual trappings of organizations came into being accidentally six years ago. And now some 50 cities have Alcoholics Anonymous and some 2,000 chronic drinkers have been strapped permanently “on the wagon” as a result.

Anyone interested in this movement may obtain the address of the Fort Worth man from the City Editor of The Press.

The group works roughly in this fashion: Once cured of drink, an alcoholic places himself at the disposal of the first confirmed drunk who conscientiously wants to “lay off.”

The A.A. member, fortified with ample experience in elbow bending, is able to approach the sinner with far more tact and reason than the preacher, wife or reformer who doesn’t touch the stuff.

The reformation of the “patient” becomes a passionate avocation of the A.A. member. He will leave his job or get up at night to talk the patient out of drinking. He knows all the excuses, all the tricks by which a drunk salves his conscience before leaping off on a spree.

Merely talking with a fellow sufferer will help the patient and in turn, the ex-alcoholic, by trying to help another, is himself fortified against temptation.

Too simple to work, you say? Simple, yes, but it’s beaten any scheme psychiatrists, doctors priests and preachers have offered.

Like other A.A.s, Bill is no evangelist. Religion doesn’t enter into the cure. Now 57, he can look back on an eventful life that was marred only by his intemperance. In his early twenties an important $25,000 a-year post took him to gay, foreign ports. He began drinking heavily. In 1929 the stock crash wiped away his fortune and the drinking increased. Three years ago the approaching death of his wife brought him to his senses.

Opens Modest Home

Now Bill is no longer young and very much alone. He makes $45 a month by working on a federal relief project and the loneliness and memories of a prosperous past make it hard for him to forget the cups that cheer.

He heard of the A.A.s and decided to found a local chapter upon learning that the closest was in Houston. He has a small modest home, once a servant house.

This, Bill wants to put at the disposal of one, two or even more alcoholics who want to “get off.” An excellent conversationalist and well-educated, he will make no dull companion on the long evenings when a man wants to take a drink badly.

“I haven’t much,” Bill confesses, “but I have enough to provide a few games and I can play bridge. I will gladly get up at any hour or even miss a day’s work if it’ll help somebody keep off the liquor.”

The Alcoholics Anonymous, in no way a reform group, are not interested in those who “can hold their liquor.

1942 – 1943

A.A. membership in Fort Worth declined in 1942. Letters between New York and Fort Worth were sparse. In one letter, New York wrote to George: We had just about decided you had dropped out of the A.A. picture. There was a reference to George’s illness and he was urged to ask for help from other A.A. members. On February 9, 1943 New York wrote George about a prospect. The letter also said: This is just a short note to determine whether the Fort Worth group is still active… let us know… if your group is still active.

An A.A. census in early 1943 listed Forth Worth as having five members. The census showed George McL. as Group Secretary. George was suffering grievously from cancer and his activity was slowed by illness. These were also the days of World War II, an extreme crisis for the nation. People were on the move, in uniform or in war work.

1943 marked the arrival of pioneers that would help start the continuing growth of A.A. in the Fort Worth area. One of them was Ralph R., a railroad switchman and former deputy sheriff. Ralph was only 32 but desperate for help because of his drinking. So were his loved ones. A sister-in-law in Kansas City mailed an article about A.A. to Ralph’s wife, Virginia. She called the Fort Worth Star-Telegram hoping someone would know about A.A. in Fort Worth. Someone did and gave her George McL.’s phone number.

Ralph called George but didn’t follow through at first. After a painful drunk, he went to George’s home for help. Ralph became a dedicated Twelfth-Stepper. Ralph and George continued to meet about once a week in George’s home. They read the Big Book, talked, prayed and stayed sober. Years after his pioneering in A.A., Ralph had relapses but was still an inspiration to many. Ralph passed away January 16, 1972.

In the fall of 1943, the first known woman member of A.A. in Fort Worth came to seek help. Her name was Anne T. She was from a socially-prominent family, a drunk and crying out for help. How Anne T. heard about A.A., George McL. and Ralph R. is not known, but she began meeting with them.

Meetings were moved from George’s home to an area over a stable on property Anne owned on Summit Ave. (the once proud “Silk Stocking Row” of Fort Worth cattle barons). Soon joining them was a soft-spoken little Fort Worth oilman, Mac B., who became a staunch member.

Many A.A. groups have run classified ads (usually in the Personal Column) offering help to those who want it. The first such ad in Fort Worth appeared in the Sunday Fort Worth Star-Telegram on October 31, 1943. Ralph R. went to the want-ad counter and wrote:

FOR PROBLEM drinkers who want to help themselves. No charge. Write Alcoholics Anonymous, Box 1671, Fort Worth, Texas.

Anne T. rented a room at the Blackstone Hotel, and meetings were moved there. She wrote New York on November 8, 1943: Good news that Fort Worth is starting up again. As many as ten people began attending regularly.

The following news article is believed to describe Anne T. using an alias of “Sarah Martin” (an alias name Jack Alexander used in the March 1941 Saturday Evening Post article about A.A.).

Fort Worth Star-Telegram 4 (circa 1943)

Alcoholics Anonymous Is Ready to Salvage Human Wrecks in Fort Worth, Too

FOR PROBLEM drinkers who want to help themselves. No charge. Write Alcoholics Anonymous, Box 1671, Fort Worth, Texas.

With the appearance of this advertisement in the classified columns of the Star-Telegram a few days ago, Alcoholics Anonymous began functioning in Fort Worth.

Only alcoholics are eligible for membership in this odd and remarkable fraternity of the water wagon. Freed slaves of drink, their sole purpose is to help pull their fellow tipplers on the wagon and keep them there.

Members sign no pledges, take no oaths, pay no dues. The organization has no officers, local or national, except in some cases an unpaid secretary to handle the mail. Routine expenses, when there are any, are covered by free will offerings of members. Everyone remains anonymous.

Letter Will Bring Card

Fort Worth “headquarters” of Alcoholics Anonymous is a post office box 1671. National headquarters consist of a small office in New York, on the door of which there is no name, and mail is received anonymously through Box 658, Church Street Annex post office.

A letter addressed to the Fort Worth box from an alcoholic who wants to quit drinking will, in due time, produce a personal call from a member of the organization.

One of these is a woman. We’ll call her Sarah Martin5. That isn’t her real name, but it is the name Jack Alexander used in relating the recovery of one alcoholic in the Saturday Evening Post. What happened to that Sarah Martin, Alcoholics Anonymous believe, can happen to any alcoholic.

When Sarah Martin calls, she first will make sure of two things:

1. That the prospect actually is an alcoholic, one willing to admit that the stuff has him licked and that his life has become unmanageable. Alcoholics Anonymous are not interested in any sissy drinkers. If you can not take three drinks without getting drunk, you can not qualify for membership in this unique organization.

2. That he – or she – really wants to quit drinking. Wishing you want to is not sufficient.

“Design for Living”

These requirements being met, Sarah Martin will outline the “design for living” evolved by the founders of Alcoholics Anonymous, a New York stock broker and an Akron, Ohio physician. The plan worked for them; it has worked for thousands of others, including many who were medically helpless, and they believe it will work for any other alcoholic.

“You’ve tried everything else,” she will say. “Why not try God?” Religion in its broadest sense is the foundation stone of the organization. This does not necessarily mean the Christian religion. If the prospect happens to be a skeptic or an agnostic, he is required only to believe in the

(Note: text is missing in the news article 6)

[ex-science, restores his self respect. himself on whom he can rely and to whom he will pray for strength.] … The next step on the road to recovery is for the prospect to take a moral inventory of himself and, so far as he is able, to clean up his past. This is highly important, as it clears the prospect’s conscience, restores his self-respect. He also makes a list of all his grudges and resolves not to be stirred by them.

1944 – 1946

The A.A. Fellowship didn’t grow much in Fort Worth in 1944. A census dated January 11, 1944 showed Fort Worth having 10 members and reported that the group met in the downtown YMCA at 7:30PM on Wednesdays. Anne T. was listed as the Group Secretary.

Census counts that followed showed:

August 1944 12 members – Secretary: Mac B. February 1945 28 members – Secretary: J. Van H. August 1945 57 members – Secretary: Gwen M. February 1946 102 members – Secretary: Harry D.

In 1945 the fledgling Fort Worth A.A. membership moved from the YMCA building to the First Presbyterian Church Annex downtown. Later that year they rented a two-story brick building for a club house at 612 West 4th St. for $100. This was the first site of an A.A. club in Fort Worth (see news article that follows later).

The first A.A. group in Fort Worth identified itself as Group One. Meetings were held in the club .

In the late 1940’s there were two other groups in Fort Worth. One (short-lived) met in a small upstairs place in the 300 block of West 4th St. The other was known as the Macon St. Group.

The name and title “Harry D., Secretary” appears on a May 1946 document in The Collection of The Harbor Club that pertains to Group One.

The first page of the document is reprinted on the next page. The “no nonsense” document, in legal format, spells out the Charter and By-Laws of Group One. It defines a Steering Committee, a Dispatching Committee and a Sponsoring Committee.

There also seems to be intent to establish a “convalescent center” whose patient’s treatment and discharge would be determined by the Dispatching Committee. The Dispatching Committee also handled the correspondence mailed in to the Group.

At the end of the document, the Twelve Steps are listed with Step Twelve in its initial form.7

ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS OF FORT WORTH, TEXAS, INC.

GROUP ONE

REGULAR PREFACE TO MEETINGS

(circa 1946)

We are all gathered here because we are faced with the fact that we are powerless over alcohol and are unable to do anything about it without the help of a Power greater than ourselves.

We feel that each person’s religious views, if any, are their own affair, and the simple purpose of the program of Alcoholics Anonymous is to show each of us what we can do to enlist the aid of a Power Greater than Ourselves, regardless of what our individual conception of that Power may be. That in order to form a habit of depending upon and referring all we do to that Power, we must at first apply ourselves with some diligence, but by often repeating these acts, they become habitual, and the help rendered becomes natural to us.

We have all come to know that as alcoholics we are suffering from a serious disease for which medicine has no cure. Our condition may be the result of an allergy which makes us different from other people. It has never been, by any treatment with which we are familiar, permanently cured. The only relief we have to suggest is absolute abstinence – the second meaning of A.A.

There are no dues nor fees. The only requirement for A.A. membership is an honest desire to stop drinking. Each member squares his debt by helping others to recovery.

An Alcoholic Anonymous is an alcoholic who, through an application of an adherence to the A.A. program, has completely foresworn the use of any and all alcoholic beverages or narcotics in any form. The moment he drinks so much as one drop of beer, wine, spirits or any other alcoholic beverage, he automatically loses working status as a member of Alcoholics Anonymous. He cannot attend a meeting if he has had a drink on any meeting day. He is barred from making contact calls on any new or prospective member until he has had thirty days sobriety, unless accompanied by an eligible member or directed to do so by the dispatcher. He cannot hold office or be a candidate for office until he has had three months sobriety and must submit his resignation as an officer if a slip occurs during his tenure in office. A.A. is not interested in sobering up drunks who are not sincere in their desire to remain completely sober for all time. Not being reformers we offer our experience only to those who want it.8

We have a way out on which we can absolutely agree, and upon which we can join in harmonious action. Rarely have we seen a person fail who has thoroughly followed our path. Those who do not recover are people who will not completely give themselves to this simple program.

You may like this program or you may not. But the fact remains that it works and it is our only chance of recovery.

There is, however, a vast amount of fun about it all. Some people might be shocked at our seeming worldliness and levity. But just underneath there is a deadly earnestness and a full realization that we must put First Things First. With each of us the First Thing is our alcohol problem, to drink is to die. Faith has to work 24 hours a day in and through us – or we perish.

The Fort Worth Press 9 (circa 1946)

Alcoholics Anonymous Mushroomed Here In Jig Time – From P.O. Box To Swank Clubhouse

By Amy Jo Long

Note: photo removed to allow smaller file To be distributed by e-mail

A.A. Clubhouse – This dwelling at 612 W. 4th, near Fort Worth’s business district, now serves as a clubhouse for the city’s fast-growing Alcoholics Anonymous chapter.10

A half dozen men lounged in the big front room of a comfortable red brick house at 612 W. Fourth. Talk was sometimes heated, sometimes not, and it ranged from local election results to foreign policy.

It was a typical bull session, but there was not a highball in sight. For these people are among the thousands for whom one drink is too many, 20 not enough. The house at W. Fourth is the clubhouse of Alcoholics Anonymous, Fort Worth’s fastest growing organization.

Group Mushroomed

Eighteen months ago there were only four “A.A.s” here who had been sober as long as three months. That was one less than the five necessary to form a steering committee for the group. Since Jan. 1945, more than 300 Alcoholics have joined the movement here.

Approximately 175 of that number are active members of the Fort Worth group. The others have gone home to smaller Texas cities to found other local chapters of the 11-year-old Alcoholics Anonymous which overnight has captured the public imagination.

Fort Worthers, like citizens all over the country, are learning that A.A. is more than a program for staying sober. It is a way of life in which there is no need for drinks.

Members Are Refined

“People who didn’t know used to think we were a bunch of drunken bums” said the distinguished looking business man who is president of the local chapter. “Now they know these are nice refined people.” “Some of our members are from the best families in Fort Worth”.

Professional people from a large segment of the organization, and in many cities lawyers and doctors predominate. But the tie of their common illness, alcoholism, makes staunch friends of debutantes, clerks, truck drivers.

More and more women, as well as men, are joining the local chapter. Present ration of men to women is about six to one, the president said.

Program is Active

Definite activities are planned for four nights of every week for A.A. members. Study groups meet two nights, there is a central meeting one night and every Saturday night there’s a social event.

One of the study groups is for old and new members; the other is for new members only. Members discuss their experiences and study “the 12 Steps” which form the basis for the A.A. program.

Old members instill confidence in new members by recounting their pre-A.A. escapades and sufferings. Novices begin to feel surer, thinking “If they can do it, I can do it too. They’ve been through just as much as I have”.

Personal Care Given

Many persons when they join A.A. are suffering from malnutrition and need hospital care. Local hospitals, as well as physicians and ministers are cooperating with the local chapter.

When a new member is hospitalized, a seasoned A.A. goes along with him, spends the first night with him. The organization is in touch with the patient constantly.

In cases where hospital care is not necessary, the new member often is taken to a downtown hotel room, where he is isolated entirely from his family and friends. There, for a week he learns what Alcoholics Anonymous is.

Old members volunteering for two-hour shifts are with him 24 hours a day — talking, explaining, listening.

Alcoholics Anonymous is a truly democratic club. Every person who joins is made to feel that A.A. won’t operate without his help. Membership of the various committees rotates.

On the seven-member steering committee, a new person is added and an old one dropped every month.

Other committees are sponsoring, entertainment, dispatchers and program. They take care of assigning sponsors to new members, planning social events, answering calls for help from alcoholics or their relatives and planning programs for the central meetings, held in the First Presbyterian Church.

Ranks High Too

Mrs. Marty Mann, director of the National Committee for Education of Alcoholism, places Fort Worth’s A.A. chapter among the top groups in the nation. Her visit here early this year, resulted in rapid advancement for A.A. as well as in organization of a local committee affiliated with the NCEA and establishment by the committee of an information center.

Alcoholics Anonymous has had its clubhouse since Jan. 1. Its telephone number was listed in the directory three months later. It was the first chapter west of the Mississippi to have had a paid secretary.

The secretary lives in the club house, has an extension telephone beside his bed. An alcoholic never fails to get an answer when he dials 3-7451.

Already the organization has outgrown its rented quarters. It’s building a fund and looking around for a place to buy.

Members Support It

The present clubhouse has three recreation rooms and a secretary’s bedroom upstairs, a basement game room and, on the ground floor, a living room, office, kitchen and coffee “bar”. Two air conditioning units were installed last week.

Alcoholics Anonymous is supported entirely by the membership. It accepts no contributions, the president emphasized.

When it buys a building, the money will come from members. And when that time comes, A.A. will be a far cry from its beginnings here — with a post office box. First meetings were in a hotel room, later ones in the YMCA.

Potential membership in Fort Worth is estimated at 2,00011.

Many Testimonials

For every person who finds a new way of life through A.A., at least 20 more are made happy, says the president. They are the family and friends.

A letter from the wife of a member expresses “my deep gratitude to the organization and its members for the really wonderful things your organization did for my husband, R.H.”

“Perhaps he told you or tried to tell you how he felt about it”, she wrote “but I feel sure he would be happy to know that I too was aware of some of the facts.”

1947 – 1948

In February 1947 membership was listed at 275 by Secretary Johnny R. Seemingly, an inordinate number of pioneer A.A. members in Fort Worth were wealthy oilmen, merchants and well-to-do. The club bank account bulged. Mindful that money can be a problem for recovering alcoholics. Ralph R. went to New York to seek the counsel of co-founder Bill W. Bill suggested that the Fort Worth group found a non-profit corporation, technically separate from the A.A. group, but with the club membership limited to A.A. members.

In 1948 The Harbor Club received its name from Joe C. It was incorporated and moved from West 4th St. to a mansion in the 1,000 block of Penn St. on August 11. Bill W. in A.A. Comes of Age may well have had the place in mind when, commenting about A.A. clubs in general, he wrote “Some of those in Texas have to be seen to be believed”. 1950 – Early Organization Efforts

In 1950, members from several cities came together to form the Alcoholic Service Association. Some information on this appears in a document in The Collection of The Harbor Club. It reads:

A group of A.A. men and women met in Fort Worth on Sunday, December 10, 1950. They came as individuals, not as representatives of A.A. Groups, but they did represent the general thinking of several hundred other individuals. They came from Waco, Amarillo, Wichita Falls, Mineral Wells, Hillsboro and Fort Worth. Other individuals in Victoria, Odessa, Abilene, Dallas and Austin had previously expressed approval of the objective but were unable to attend.

Personal, long distance or mail contact had been had with individual A.A. members in Tyler, Houston, Corpus Christi, San Angelo, Texarkana, Paris, San Antonio, Beaumont and El Paso and a few other places. Only a representative few people could be contacted because of the expense. There was no intent to slight anyone or to make this movement a regional affair.

The meeting was to consider a proposal that had been made to set up a Service Headquarters and employ a Service Officer, for an experimental period ending June 30, 1951. Service proposed to be rendered was over and above ordinary 12th Step work. Financing was to be thru contributions of interested individual members of A.A. and not A.A. Groups as such.

After the proposal was first made, opinion was divided. Many good men and women thought any such plan would violate our 12 Traditions12. To settle this point, a 30 minute long distance conference was had with our co-founder Bill W. in New York on November 26th. This was recorded with Bill’s permission. The proposal was explained in great detail and a copy of the PROPOSAL as first mailed on November 12th was sent to him. Not only did Bill W. approve the plan in the telephone conversation, but he wrote a letter under the date of December 4th, and his words are quoted”

I can only repeat what I said then – if Texas wants a paid Secretary who has something legitimate to do over and above 12th Step work, I am sure there is nothing in the Traditions to bar that. Whether Horace be the man, or whether Texas wishes or needs such a worker is something entirely for the decision of the folks down there.

Later in the document the general purposes of the “Association” and the duties of the “Service Officer” are defined as:

a. Only upon request of or under sponsorship of interested A.A. members or groups, to assist in the formation of new Groups, the revitalization of established Groups having difficulties, and to conduct open meetings.

b. To establish a Speaker’s Bureau, classified as to subjects and geography, and to supply speakers upon request of A.A. Groups and Auxiliaries and thus lighten the demand on the Service Officer.

c. To prepare outlines of suggested Topics or Subjects for discussion in A.A. Group and Auxiliary Meetings based on analysis of the Big Book to enable a more thorough and intelligent study of it.

d. To conduct educational meetings in schools or colleges, and before service clubs, industrial groups, etc. in any Texas community when so requested by the local A.A. Group.

e. Especially to devise new ideas and methods of creating a more intimate fellowship within A.A., particularly between neighboring groups, to encourage more regional meetings, and to provide a clearing house for all A.A. Groups in presenting suggestions for conference13 or convention discussion.

f. To do everything possible to promote the welfare of A.A. in Texas upon request of interested Groups, limiting the activities of the Service Officer to Texas, except in any special case approved by the Advisory Board, and to avoid any use of the Service Officer as a paid 12th Step worker or missionary in keeping with the suggestion of Bill W.

It is not know how far or how long the “Alcoholic Service Association” functioned. Fort Worth A.A. Central Office

In the late summer of 1977 representatives from some of the Groups in the District14 began to meet together with the hope of providing the District with a Central Office. Some were not too enthusiastic as two previous attempts to have a Central Office here had failed. However, a committee was formed in September 1977 to start to look for a location and start setting up for the basic needs and functions of the Central Office. Some of the Groups and individual members had begun making contributions to this end. Members involved in the beginning were Bill G., George L., Roy D., Buddy R., Al T., and Bob H.

A majority of Groups decided that the name of the office be the “Fort Worth A.A. Central Office”. The original plan was to work with volunteers only. The office was to be open from 9AM to 5PM week days. The office phone number was to be transferred to a member of the Fellowship each evening and on weekends so that we would have a recovered alcoholic answer our phone around the clock. The volunteers taking home-phone coverage were to be supplied with a confidential 12th Step list, meeting schedules and general reference information. This part of the service is still very much intact. Hundreds of volunteers have helped over the years. From the start of the office, the Groups decided that the Fort Worth A.A. Central Office would sell only A.A. World Services and Grapevine Inc. literature. No change has been made in this concept as it is felt we are here to carry the message of Alcoholics Anonymous.

In the late fall of 1977, a small office space was located, phones installed, etc., and the Central Office opened in November 1977. During the first few weeks, George L. stayed in the office daily with a great deal of help from Bobbie H. and other volunteers to set up files, volunteer lists and help the new volunteers understand their duties. The Central Office was to be guided by a six person (rotating) Steering Committee.

The goal of the Central Office was to furnish the Districts with all (or most) of the services outlined in the GSO Guidelines for Central or Intergroup Offices. Betty G., a very active supporter, helped with getting the first literature into the office (a small amount) for the convenience of the Groups. The Central Office was also instrumental in helping to form committees, such as Public Information, Institutions and Treatment Centers and still cooperates fully with the service committees that serve the Districts.

After six months of volunteer coverage some problems began to arise. It took at least 16 volunteers a week to keep the office open and phones covered. Only one volunteer “Doyle” covered half of every weekend on the phone since the Central Office had opened. In March 1978 the Steering Committee approached Jean S., one of the original volunteers, to take on the responsibility of setting up Volunteer Schedules and other office needs by spending at least one day a week in the Central Office. She accepted and became the full time Office Coordinator/Secretary.

As some indication of the growth of the services provided by the Central Office, the first few months it was open it received from 250 to 300 calls a month for help and information and sold a few hundred dollars worth of literature. It now15 receives about 1,200 calls for help and information monthly and sells approximately $3,000 of literature. In March 1978 the office moved to larger quarters (across the street) into its present location at 316 Bailey Avenue, Suite 108-A, Fort worth, TX 76107.

The Central Office still functions with a six person rotating Steering Committee with the Office Secretary as a permanent member. Each group is asked to have a Central Office Representative (COR) to serve as a liaison between their Group and the Central Office. The Steering Committee meets monthly and then meets with the group Central Office Representatives (CORs) on a quarterly basis. The CORs figure greatly in any changes or decision making pertaining to the Central Office. All interested members are invited to attend the quarterly meeting.

Financial support comes from Group and individual member contributions, with a small profit made on the sale of literature. The office mails out a monthly Newsletter, The Coffee Break along with all Group “flyers” brought into the Central Office.

The operation of the Central Office is kept as simple as possible and still furnishes all the needed services to the Groups16 always remembering its primary purpose of having the hand of A.A. ready to help the still suffering alcoholic. Help from Our Non-alcoholic Friends

A.A. history is filled with heart-warming stories of help from non-alcoholics. So is the history of A.A. in Fort Worth. Two names are prominent “Lacy” and “Jellinek”.

George Lacy

The late George Lacy, MD was a pioneer among Fort Worth physicians in treating alcoholism. He recognized the alcoholic as a seriously ill person needing all the understanding and skill that the physician could muster.

When he began work with alcoholics here it was nearly impossible to find a physician who would extend meaningful therapy and follow-up attention to the alcoholic. Most practitioners thought the alcoholic to be beyond help. Lacy’s work not only provided direct relief for the ailing alcoholic but helped to break down walls of misunderstanding in medical circles.

Elvin M. Jellinek

Jellinek was not a physician, but was recognized as an authority on alcoholism. He was Director of the Yale School of Alcohol Studies and a strong influence on both Bill W. and Marty M.17

Pioneer Fort Worth A.A. members encouraged him to carry on his work here. He opened the Southwest Division of the Yale School on the campus of Texas Christian University.

Jellinek carried on his work of clinical out-patient programs and research in alcoholism in Fort Worth for several years in the late 1940’s and early 1950’s. He was a strong supporter of Alcoholics Anonymous and extolled the Fellowship before medical and scientific bodies.

He spoke at open A.A. meetings here and developed strong personal ties with many early A.A. members in Fort Worth. After leaving Fort Worth, Jellinek became Director of Alcohol Studies in Switzerland for the UN. Later, he returned to the U.S. for work at Stanford University. He passed away in 1963.

The Media

Other good friends of A.A. in Fort Worth have been the news media, which without exception have applauded the Fellowship since its beginning here. Their articles attracted numerous alcoholics to Alcoholics Anonymous.

Several news articles are contained in the Scrapbooks of The Collection of the General Service Board of Alcoholics Anonymous18.

Markings on the Journey

May 25, 1941 George McL. wrote to New York that he wanted to start A.A. in Fort Worth. He was “A.A. No. 1” here. July 23, 1941 Estimated date of the first A.A. meeting in Fort Worth. 7 attended. George McL. presided. 1941 The GSO Archives Scrapbook for 1939 – 1942 contains two news articles describing A.A. activities of a Fort Worth man identified as “Bill”. This is believed to be George McL. using an alias first name. August 28, 1943 First meeting of Ralph R. and George McL. It revived A.A. activity in Fort Worth. November 8, 1943 First woman A.A. in Fort Worth, Anne T., wrote New York about the rebirth of Fellowship activity here. 1943 The GSO Archives Scrapbook for 1943 contains an article describing the A.A. activities of a Fort Worth woman identified as “Sarah Martin” (a name used by Jack Alexander in his Saturday Evening Post article). This is believed to be Anne T. using an alias name. January 11, 1944 Anne T. wrote New York that Fort Worth had 10 A.A. members who met weekly in the downtown YMCA. February 1, 1945 A.A. national census stated that Fort Worth had 28 members. Group Secretary was J. Van H. August 1, 1945 A.A. national census stated that Fort Worth had 57 members. Group Secretary was Gwen M. February 1, 1946 A.A. national census stated that Fort Worth had 102 members. Group Secretary was Harry D. February 1, 1947 A.A. national census stated that Fort Worth had 275 members. Group Secretary was Johnnie R. May 3, 1948 The Harbor Club was incorporated. It was at 612 west 4th St. in downtown Fort Worth and was the home of Fort Worth A.A. Group Number One. 1955 Hack H. elected as Delegate (Panel 5) to the General Service Conference. He is the first Fort Worth A.A. member elected as Delegate. August 28, 1973 The mayor proclaimed the date “Alcoholics Anonymous Day” in Fort Worth. November 1977 The Fort Worth A.A. Central Office opens.