CASTLEGAR NEWS, February 25,.1981 Helping to maintain sobriety How AA got its start * It was June 1935. Bill “Wilson, a New York ‘broker, ipaced the hotel lobby in “Akron, Ohio. .Once pro- ‘nounced a hopeless alcoholic, ‘he nonetheless had lost all “desire to drink just six ‘months before. . But he was scared. An im- ‘portant business deal had gone on the rocks, He was ‘alone and acutely depressed _" gripped again by the ter- rible vempulsion to blot out past, present, and future with alcohol, He knew that his own survival was at stake; he needed to. find another drunk to help if he -himself wanted to stay sober. He knew he could not do it alone. the phone book for the name af someone who could put him in touch with another al- goholic, Only thus would he ‘pe able to save himself from ‘the “one drink” that was sure sfo turn into two or three and ‘nore... and eventually wash him all the way down to in- panity or death. The phone call Bill Wilson Jade that day led to a meet- dng with the late Dr. Bob Smith, a physician whose practice had been virtually lestroyed by alcohol. Out of ‘their individual isolation and espair came hope and heat: ‘sober. And so ‘AA. was born. t», Much of present A.A. theory and practice was iknown before this historic- ameeting: that while alcohol- ism is an incurable illness, it ran be arrested by total ab-* Stinence and, as the Oxford Smovement taught, by fear-, ss self-inventory and help- ie others to contact with the Oxford groups but that relationship ended in 1997. Since then, the “fellowship has remained in- dependent of any other affil- iation. The two di of their primary. purpose: to stay sober and help other al-, ‘eoholics achieve sobricty. Thus it was that the ‘Twelve Traditions, providing jelines for self: t merely a suggested ‘one and the “group conscience” is the governing. power. . Today, there are. more - than 40,000 AM, groups in ppo - some 110 with a A.A, gathered -in a third member almost immediately; still, the going was slow. Six group nor-affiliation, and . other basic concepts came about, _ Since those first days, A. a months later, Bill New York to start a second group; a third was formed in Cleveland. By 1938, there were only 60: members, however, and the founding fathers (and a few mothers) rashly decided to publish a book incor- porating the experience and thinking of those who had found sobriety. ‘The title, “Alcoholies Anonymous” — gave the fellowship its name. Despite high hopes, the amateur author-publishers were left with 5,000 copies of a book nobody seemed to want. The printer's bill was unpaid and, on one occasion, they were nearly evicted _ from their modest headquar- ters. One member mortgaged his business to keep things going. . Then, a Cleveland news- - paper ran a 10-part series on A.A. that resulted in a deluge of inquiries. Overnight, there were hundreds of members in the Cleveland-Akron area,’ Barely-dry. newcomers were pressed into immediate ser- vice to help those even newer to sobriety. A.A. gained a non-alcoholic friend with just about every new member — doctors, clergymen, relatives, friends, . and employers of alcoholics. Many of A.A.’s early cham- - pions staked’ their personal EN first, A.A. kept in close Thinking Day support appreciated Editor, Castlegar News: On| .of all the. mem- bers in the-Girl. Guides and Boy Scout movement in the Castlegar and surrounding districts, I would like to thank all the people who Belped make our Thinking Day y parade and iP: a yuvetaereetencnen , make A.A. and pi E a thelr belief in the efficacy of the fledgling organization. Among those who took an active. interest was the late John D. Rockefeller, Jr. While he refused to provide financial backing — com- menting that “money will spoil all this” — he did help to . “respectable” in the eyes of the world. His ac- colades brought membership * to.a. new high of .2,000..as = have ; carry the message of hone to the active alcoholic, They shy away from anything that . smacks of lecture or reform. " Nothing 4 te fellowship is million who, thanks to the fellowship, are sober, useful, responsible — and happy — people.- And that book that wouldn't move anywhere ex- cept toward bankruptcy? It has sold close to three million copies to-date ‘and can be Ye prog) is groups were launched in . nearly a dozen major cities. Then, in 1941, a feature article in The Saturday Even- ing Post, by Jack Alexander, ds of suf- huge" success. Special thanks to our RCMP. escorts during our parade; to all the mothers that took-care of seeing ail the boys and girls had cocoa and cookies before leaving for home; the complex com- mittee for the use of the hall; lastly, to all the parents who joined us and supported us in chosing our Founders Lord and Lady Baden Powell k. pecial thanks to Mark Zurek for all his work — a job well done; last, but not least, to the Castlegar News for all its coverage and support. Margaret. Bro fering alcoholics, Additional thousands who came to A.A. in later years said they had first learned about the fellow- ship from this one story which, in pamphlet fcrm, is still available: from the gen- eral service office in New York. Early members, like those today, were above all human, Sobriety came first, but there were also grandiose plans for A.A. hospitals, fund-raising drives and gov- ernment support, as well as the all-too-natural urge for personal power and prestige — all of which threatened to divert the members from Aims at public hearing for RCMP : EDMONTON (CP) — Soli- ditor-General Robert Kaplan gays he hopes to introduce Tégislation within a month to dllow citizen complaints dbout the RCMP to be heard ih public by an external re- view board. Kaplan, in Edmonton on Feb. 20 to discuss the federal- provincial RCMP contract, said the current method of internal review of RCMP conduct is “unsatisfactory to the citizen.” © Under the proposed legis- lation, complaints would be eard by an external review board and would be tied to an internal disciplinary hearing. = Courts have ruled RCMP officers do not have to appear Before provincial complaint Boards, such as Alberta's law enforcement appeal board, Alberta has challenged the rulings, and is awaiting a Supreme Court of Canada decision on the refusal of two Alberta RCMP officers to appear before the provincial board in 1976. The casé was argued several weeks ago. Kaplan said he can submit the bill to the Commons be- . fore the court rules, but he hoped a quick decision would “help shape the legislation.” He said the bill will not satify all the provinces. Some have asked the federal gov- ernment to make the force accountable to provincial bodies instead of setting up a federal complaints board. * But Kaplan said the RCMP is a national police force, and is accountable to the federal government. HOMEGOODS FURNITURE ‘WAREHOUSE Tues. -Sat. 9:30 - 5: 30 China Creek “Drive a Litte to Save a Lot” Wolo DEPARTMENT STORES A cuvchoW OF F wy WOOLMORTH ED G20, read in more ‘than a dozen WANETA PLAZA SHOPPING CENTRE HWY.STRAIL. Wooteo Store Hours: 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Thursday and Fridayt 9:30 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. "VANCOUVER (CP) — The five-bedroom house is the quietest on the quiet resi-: dential street. The telephone. - never rings and the sound-on the television set has never been turned on. - The house is home to Doug ‘and Charlene Clifton, a deaf couple whorun a group home for up to five deaf children. Clifton, a technician with the Western Institute for the Deaf who’ specializes in in- venting aids for the deaf, has adapted the home to his young guests’ needs in a pilot project funded by the British Columbia education ' ‘depart. "hs flash in every room when callers press the door- bell or call on the telephone. . If theré were a fire, every light’ inthe house’ would pulsate, sounding a silent alarm. The phone is connected to a computer keyboard so the deaf can converse with sim- ilarly equipped | callers by typing: their Messages: back and forth. Clifton nas even devised a silent alarm: clock’?—' the lights : flash in ‘each: ‘child's. room at “wakeup ' time ‘each morning.’. One ‘sleepyhead who slept through: the bom: bardment of blinking “lights ’. now has a timed vibrator. on her bed that gently shakes : “her awakes. , ACTS AS INTERPRETER, | The ‘Cliftons': seven-year- old daughter Liss is ‘the only one in :the house who. can hear and acts as an liter- preter when ‘visitors who don't’ -know sign language come to call. Gary Magarrell, executive. director of the Western Insti-: tute for the Deaf, which runs. the home, says the Cliftons were chosen for the project — “because we were looking for a deaf couple with maturity _and warmth for kids and with: a stable relationship.” - Charlene Clifton has been’ deaf since birth and does ‘Rot speak. Cn Rainfall of Savings ‘dats “in.BC,; Magarréil. says 3 the children are not wards of the government but children whose parents live outside the city, far from Jericho Hill school for the “deaf where they. all attend classes. “We are. giving them an ordinary family ‘life in a tior- mal situation. where they relate. to two People’ hes says. ‘Each child is weeponsibla for some household chore: They: learn how to manage a -bank ‘account, do grocery: ° shopping and become accus- tomed to the usual. give-and- take of family living. Smile under the rain with these lovely all-weather coats. Choose omong ‘these - single or double-breasted: coats in'a wide selection. of styles.. They are, made in : 65% Polyester/35% Cotton or 50% Polyester/50% Cotton with ‘Acotole lining. 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