From GSO

The following was presented in booklet form on April 19, 2008.

The Grassroots of AA

A look into the history of Alcoholics Anonymous

Presented by:

District 13, Area 51

North Carolina

April 19, 2008

McAdenville Baptist Church
192 Main Street
McAdenville , NC 28101

List of early meetings in North Carolina as published in the A.A. World Directory.

June 1941 (Earliest Directory)

Shelby – Dr. Tom. M.; 20 members

December 1941

Shelby – Dr. T. M.; 20 members

April 1942—

Shelby - Sec., Dr. T.M.; 40 members

September 1942—

Shelby – Dr. T. M.; 40 members

Charlotte – Sec., David R.; 7 members

January 1943

Burlington– Sec., A.W. H.; 3 members

Charlotte - Sec, David R.; 7 members

Fayetteville - Sec., S.E. W.; 3 members

Shelby– Sec. Dr. T.B.M.; 40 members

May 1943

Burlington – Sec., A.W.H.; 3 members

Charlotte - Sec, David R.; 8 members

Fayetteville - Sec., S.E. W.; 3 members

Shelby - Sec. Dr. T. M.; 40 members

November 1943

Burlington– Sec., A.W.H; 3 members

Charlotte– Sec, David R.; 7 members

Shelby – Sec. Dr. T.B.M; 40 members

February 1944

Burlington - Sec., A.W.H; 3 members

Charlotte – Sec, C.L.S; 14 members

Shelby – Sec. Wilson C.; 40 members

August 1944

Asheville - R.H.Mc.; 12 members

Charlotte – Sec, C.L.S.; 14 members

Shelby – Sec. Wilson C.; 50 members

February 1945

Asheville – Sec. C.H. B.; 20 members

Charlotte – Sec., Ed B.; 32 members

Gastonia – Sec., John W.; 12 members

Shelby – Sec. W.B. Mc.; 70 members

Historical information on this page provided courtesy of the GSO Archives, New York, NY. Do not publish without permission of AA World Services, Inc.

Correspondence – Shelby, North Carolina

Date: July 28, 1940
From: Dr. M.
To: The Alcoholic Foundation
“I have recently read of your book ‘Alcoholics Anonymous’ and for personal reasons have become very much interested…My object in writing is to offer the evidence of my life as a wonderful work of God and to you my services to your society. I am interested in alcoholism and drug addiction and am anxious to get a copy of the book ‘Alcoholics Anonymous’ which I would appreciate if you would send me C.O.D. or advise me where I can get your copies.”

Date: July 31, 1940
From: The Alcoholic Foundation
To: Dr. M.
“Thank you very much for your sincere and interesting letter of July 28th…Although we have no Fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous in North Carolina, you may be interested in forming one in your vicinity. We enclose one-half dozen of our new pamphlets which will prove helpful…The group nearest you is at Richmond, Virginia.”

Date: September 24, 1940
From: The Alcoholic Foundation
To: Dr. M.
“Your story is unusually interesting due to the fact that you mention drug addiction. If you are at all inclined to do so would you give us further particulars as to the form your drug addiction followed?”

Date: September 29, 1940
From: Dr. M.
To: The Alcoholic Foundation
“I was very interested in receiving your letter of Sept. 24th and to gain further information about the work of alcoholics anonymous. The more I investigate the solution as outlined in your publications, the more sold I became on the idea that it is the true solution for pathological alcoholism and I see no reason why the same principles should not apply to drug addiction…”

Date: December 26, 1940
From: The Alcoholic Foundation
To: Dr. M.
“Thank you so much for the generous way in which you responded to our request for detailed information regarding your drug addiction and the way in which you were able to overcome it. Your experience will be invaluable to many when we are able to bring these facts to public attention.

As you know, it is practically impossible to gather any accurate statistics about the number of alcoholics and drug addicts in this country alone…

We understand that Mr. David M. stopped in to visit with you during his trip to Aiken, S.C. We trust you did not mind us taking the liberty of giving him your name and address, for we hoped that he could give you some firsthand information of what he had himself seen and experienced.”

Date: March 5, 1941
From: Dr. M.
To: The Alcoholic Foundation
“We are getting more people interested locally, and hope to soon have an active group with regular weekly meetings.”

Date: March 18, 1941
From: The Alcoholic Foundation
To: Dr. M.
“We have received interesting letters from both Mr. W. and Mr. H. and it is certainly interesting to note how rapidly a nucleus is forming in Shelby. More power to you all!”

Date: August 18, 1942
From: The Alcoholic Foundation
To: Dr. M.
“Bill W. is still full of his wonderful trip down to the Shelby group. He never tires of telling the story of your remarkable recovery. How I envy him that trip – he met so many marvelous people.”

The following information was disclosed in a group information form and filed along with the early correspondence mentioned above:

Name of Group: Shelby A.A. Club

Total Membership: 50 approximately

Membership in Armed Forces: 15

Meetings: 8 p.m. Friday and 2 p.m. Sunday

Place: Clubroom, Hotel Charles Building

Historical information on this page provided courtesy of the GSO Archives, New York, NY. Do not publish without permission of AA World Services, Inc.

Early information at G.S.O. on Gastonia, North Carolina

Our earliest correspondence on file from Gastonia is a September 27, 1944 letter from John A. W. to the Alcoholic Foundation.

I enclose my check for $2.50. Please send me copy of the large book published by Alcoholics Anonymous. We are forming a group here and have just made a beginning.

If you have had any communication from alcoholics or others interested in Gaston County, I would appreciate your giving me their names, so that we may make an effort to help them.

Margaret R. B. offers support and a complimentary supply of literature in her October 5, 1944 reply to John A. W.

Thank you for your letter of September 27th. My delay in answering is due to the fact that our mail has increased many times because of the article giving our box number in this months Readers Digest. We are actually snowed under with the inquiries for information.

We are delighted to know that there is a beginning of a Group in Gastonia and we will be happy to list this Group in our file. Will you kindly send me the necessary information as to time and place of meeting, the secretary's name and address and the address where we may refer people who write to us from that vicinity. We do not have any recent names to send you at this time but as they come in we will refer them to whoever is selected as secretary.

Under separate cover we are sending you a small complimentary supply of our pamphlets which we handle for national distribution. You may order these as well as the large book on the same consignment basis that we give to all Groups. I suppose you know that although we sell the book, ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, to Groups for $2.50, they in turn resell them to members and others at the list price of $3.50 , the dollar difference going into the local kitty for whatever use the Group wishes.

I shall look forward to hearing more about the Gastonia Group. Bill W. joins me in kindest regards to all the members and we would appreciate simply knowing how many there are of you.

John A. W.s October 19, 1944 reply states that the Gastonia Group has made progress but still has work to do.

I should have answered your letter of the 5th sooner but we had not completely organized our unit here and I waited to give you more specific information.

We have now made a definite beginning and have seven members, all of whom seem to be very much interested. All except me are alcoholics, that is, have been or still are addicted to drink. Some of them have been off for several years but confess that the temptation returns frequently. Three have drunk some recently but are very definitely wanting help to overcome the habit. Others have promised to come in but haven't.

Last night a group were here from the Shelby, North Carolina, unit and met with us. We are very definitely indebted to the Shelby Unit for our beginning and they have been exceedingly helpful. We are trying to learn from them. Next Sunday afternoon we are going to visit the Shelby unit.

We elected Mr. J. B. R. Temporary Chairman and the writer is Secretary for the time being at least. We are meeting temporarily at the home of Mr. R., corner of 6th and Chester Streets, Gastonia, on Tuesday nights at 7:30. Mr. R. lives alone in an apartment and it makes a very nice place for temporary purposes. We have already discussed getting a more convenient and larger place to meet that we can call our own but we will have to take it easy until we have more members and more money. Any suggestions or help you can give us will be appreciated. My post office box number is 994. My telephone number at the office is 384 and at the home 1512-J. We will be glad to have members from other units to visit us at our meetings whenever possible.

I want to thank you personally and for the Group for the pamphlets you sent and for the prompt service in sending the book. We are getting a lot of help from both.

Historical information on this page provided courtesy of the GSO Archives, New York, NY. Do not publish without permission of AA World Services, Inc.

Grapevine Article from Dr. Tom M.

September 1944

Early Grapevine article on the Shelby Group

August 1945

Excerpts from “Diary of Two Motorcycle Hobos” . Edited from the diary of Lois Wilson during the trips from 1925—1927.

Charlotte, N.C.

Tues., Jan. 12, 1926

….. Reaching Charlotte too late to camp we took a room in a small hotel and left the motorcycle to have new spokes put in the wheels. Expecting to leave the next morning we arose early, but found an inch and a half of snow on the window sill. We were snowbound, for our machine skids badly in the snow, which remained on the ground for the next three days.

Charlotte is a fine town, the center of the cotton industry. …..

Near Marion, N.C.

Fri., Jan. 15, 1926

…..So on we went to the Southern Power Co.'s steam plant at Mt. Holly on the Catawba River, a fine big layout with two old-fashioned 10,000 kw. turbines, and two new 15,000 kw. ones. The chief engineer told us they could not hope for the efficiency of northern plants because of the higher caliber of labor there; nevertheless the plant was very fine. At Mountain Island, three miles further on, we went through another waterpower plant with four upright 15,000 kw. Turbines.

By this time the day was nearly gone, so we found a suitable place, in the piney woods, although we had to shovel the snow away and put down boughs. When we were purchasing provisions earlier, the tiny store soon filled with curious observers. Everywhere, we are the cynosure of all eyes, and lately, of all ears, since, in a vain attempt to find what ails the motorcycle, Bill had removed the muffler…...

…..Gastonia is called the "City of Spindles," because it has more cotton mills than any city in the south. The other day, Bill, wearing his traveling coveralls, "uber-alles," we call them, much tattered now, torn and generally disreputable, his sweater cap and pipe, strode into the Gastonia Chamber of Commerce. The man, after looking him up and down, asked what he could possibly want with pamphlets about the city, apparently it being difficult to recognize what a mighty brain and heart lay hidden behind the eccentric garb …..

Lois Wilson

Excerpts from “Diary of Two Motorcycle Hobos” . Edited from the diary of Lois Wilson during the trips from 1925—1927.

Charlotte, N.C.

Tues., Jan. 12, 1926

Charlotte is a fine town, the center of the cotton industry. …..

Near Marion, N.C.

Fri., Jan. 15, 1926

Bill Wilson			Dr. Bob Smith
	Bill met Dr. Bob in Akron when a business venture was unsuccessful. After making some calls, he met Dr. Bob who also was involved with the Oxford Groups in those days.
Prior to meeting Dr. Bob. His own doctor, Dr. Silkworth, had declared him a hopeless alcoholic. After his spiritual experience he and attended Oxford Group meetings led by Samuel Shoemaker. In “AA Comes of Age” Bill writes, “Dr. Silkworth gave us the needed knowledge of our illness, but Sam Shoemaker had given us the concrete knowledge of what we could do about it. One Showed us the mysteries of the lock that held us in prison; the other passed on the spiritual keys by which we were liberated.” Both these men became long time friends of Alcoholics Anonymous as with many others.

Samuel Shoemaker		Dr. Silkworth

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