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Alcoholics Anonymous history in your area
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
http://www.aatoronto.org/btimes.html
Parklawn Group: 30 Years and Still Going!!!!

We started life as The Young Peoples Group, and became the Parklawn Group in 1972. At that time there were only three members, Roy K, Gordie H. (deceased), and Brian R. (deceased). Meetings were held St. James Anglican Church on Parklawn.

Attendance was low and many times, in order to pay the rent, members had to dig into their own pockets. Business meetings were held in the members. homes. The Long Branch Group helped support Parklawn in those early days! It was nothing to see eight or ten members of Long Branch here, not just occasionally but every Friday. At times, we didn.t know if people belonged to Parklawn or Long Branch.

In the 80.s, most members held at least one position, either in the Group or at Intergroup.

We also had a lot of women join this Group. We had as many as eight at one time. Our Group grew and, in the mid-80.s, we had 27 members.

Around that time we were having problems at St James Church and had to move to St. Mark's in Dec .86 until .94 when that church asked us to move, as they needed the space. Again we moved further north on Parklawn to the Presbyterian Church on a week-to-week basis .til we found a new location.

Finally that church could no longer accommodate us and we voted to close down the meeting until another church was found. Brian J. sent out many letters to churches. Dick. C and Doug R. talked with ministers trying to locate another church. Three months passed; then, in June 1994, we received a letter from the Humbercrest United Church reporting they had a meeting room available on Friday nights, and so here we are!!

We'd considered changing our meeting to another night, but Friday was very important to most of us at Parklawn and even members from other groups relied on our meeting to end their week or start the weekend!

Over the years this Group survived many problems of low membership and low funds, but we hung on. When we moved to Humbercrest United, we were down to four members, Dick C. Doug R. Erin B. & Brian J. All worked desperately to get this Group back up and running, and without the support from the members of Trial & Error and Long Branch Groups we would not have survived.

So many people have passed through our doors, and as I sit here, names and faces race through my mind. Though I know some have passed on, and some have gone out, I wonder how the rest are doing.

Although our Seventh Tradition is small compared to some Groups, we manage to pay the rent, buy cakes for anniversaries, support GTA Intergroup and General Service, and even have some for the church at Christmas. It is only the continued support by members from other groups that has kept us going...

They say in AA, if a group is needed it will last; if it.s not it will fail!

I thank God it was needed, cause I, for one, needed it. This group changed my life . it gave me a life! And for that I.ll be eternally grateful. I only hope that 30 years from now this Group will still be going and that I will still be a member.

Brian J.

Copyright © December 2002, Better Times, GTA Intergroup, Toronto, Canada
http://www.aatoronto.org/

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