Dr. Bob and the Good Oldtimers. Anonymous

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      Thirty years after two alcoholics met in Akron, this huge throng at the A.A. International Convention in Toronto, Ontario, joined in saying words that sum up the spirit behind the worldwide growth of A.A., before and since: “I am responsible. When anyone, anywhere, reaches out for help, I want the hand of A.A. always to be there. And for that: I am responsible” (preceding pages).

       DR. BOB

       and the Good Oldtimers

       DR.BOB

       and the

       Good

       Oldtimers

       A biography, with recollections

       of early A.A. in the Midwest

       1980

       Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc., New York, N.Y

       DR. BOB AND THE GOOD OLDTIMERS

       Copyright © 1980 by

       ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC.

       475 Riverside Drive

       New York, N.Y. 10115

       All rights reserved. No portion of this publication may be

       reproduced in any manner without the written permission

       of the publisher.

       First Printing 1980

       Thirtieth Printing 2013

       This is A.A. General Service Conference-approved literature

       ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS® and A.A.® are registered

       trademarks of A.A. World Services. Inc.

       www.aa.org

       ISBN 978-0-916856-07-6

       eISBN 978-1-940889-80-1

       Printed In The United States Of America

       B-8

      Foreword

      The preparation of this book began after the April 1977 A.A. General Service Conference approved the project. Originally, a joint biography of the two co-founders was planned. When this proved impracticable, it became apparent that Dr. Bob’s biography should be written first, before Bill W.’s.

      The end of the last century was the setting for all of Dr. Bob’s childhood and youth. Even with the most thorough research, this early period includes months and years of which only the barest account can be given, and that in the memories of but a few men and women. Undramatic as these recollections are, they give glimpses into the innate character that would help to shape the Fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous.

      For Dr. Bob’s adult years—as an active and then as a recovering alcoholic—the material is far richer. In the course of research, the book naturally expanded from biographical limits into a memoir of early A.A. in the Midwest. Our co-founder was in the same position as any other A.A. member: Without the Fellowship and its program, his life would have been only a short story with a tragic ending.

      Both the individual and the larger history unfolded partially from A.A. literature and material in the archives at the A.A. General Service Office in New York City—but chiefly from face-to-face talks with relatives, friends, and acquaintances of Dr. Bob and with pioneer members of Midwestern A.A. The locales of these interviews included, not only Ohio and Dr. Bob’s native Vermont, but California, the D.C. area, Florida, North Carolina, New York, and Texas.

      The interviews yielded a greater wealth of historical material than could be included in one book; but the complete records are now in the A.A. archives. To all the people who shared their memories, the Fellowship owes a debt of gratitude.

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	Contents
I.	Childhood and college years
II.	Postgraduate work: M.D. and alcoholic
III.	Husband, father,and drunk
IV.	The physician as co-workers see him
V.	The alcoholic in the Oxford Group
VI.	Two alcoholics meet
VII.	A.A. number three arrives
VIII.	The first group forms, in Akron
IX.	Twelfth Step approaches evolve
X.	The co-founders face money problems
XI.	Early meetings and Big Book controversies
XII.	Cleveland A.A.’s leave the Oxford Group
XIII.	The movement spreads in the Midwest
XIV.	A.A. and St. Thomas Hospital
XV.	Sudden growth in Cleveland
XVI.	Split between Akron A.A. and the Oxford Group
XVII.	“As Dr. Bob said . . .”