Alcoholics Anonymous History In Your Area
A.A. Comes to the BC-Yukon Territory
British Columbia and Yukon Territory, Canada
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This is the infamous “Bottle Book”. It was written in 1983 and includes a history of Alcoholics Anonymous in British Columbia and the Yukon Territory. Some of the stories in this book were scanned and posted for your enjoyment click on the linked words to view them. Some of these files however need Adobe Acrobat Reader to view them it is a free download from this link.
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1941 Charlie W. known as the Candyman in Vancouver, because his wife had been a top-notch candy maker, and died of alcoholism. Although not an alcoholic himself, he was instrumental in bringing AA to BC through his brother-in-law Roland McK. from Sacramento.
1944 An ad was placed in Vancouver Province Friday, Nov. 16, 1944. Four people responded, and prayed on their knees. By June 21st of that same year, 21 members were meeting regularly at Hollywood Sanitarium.
1946 “The Bottle” was passed on by the honor system to a member who was active and felt he could carry it for a year without opening it. The bottle circulated for 33 years with the West End of Vancouver and The Kamloops area. It now is housing at the BC Yukon Archives office.
1948 The rumblings of the first Ladies AA Group began with a letter to the secretary of the area to please announce a general discussion meeting will be taking place at the Granville Social Club on July 25th, 1948
1949 An ad was placed in the Local Whitehorse Paper.
1950 Dal D. founded AA in the Yukon on March 1st, 1949. Other members Jack P. Boyd J. and Marvin W. wrote letters to Granger in Vancouver from the Kingsway Group asking for help and advice on their AA.
1951 Bill W. came to Vancouver to attend the voting Assembly and to elect a New York Delegate.
1951 Emily N. was the first person to hold an AA meeting in Prince George in someone’s home.
1968 There were 37 members present at a GSR & DCM meeting on Sunday, March 19th, 1968. It was reported that a delegate’s report would be given by Al at the Gai Paree on May 14th.
1971 Our beloved co-founder Bill W. died in the Miami Heart Institute on January 24, 1971, from pneumonia. News of the event and heartfelt condolences spread rapidly around the world. He was 75 years old.
1975 The Skidgate Queen Charlotte Group was founded in 1975 and has approximately 20 members, not including another 40 members in outlying areas.
1979 A traveling library in Kamloops was set up by assistant Library Chairperson Aime D. She carried books and literature in a specially made bookcase in the trunk of her car and sold literature on the road. Read in her own words an except.
1979 The first Grassroots rolled off the photocopier with Jack F. as the Delegate. A single 8 1/2 x 14 sheet of paper folded in half and made into 4 pages was filled with a wide variety of local GSR and DCM contributions. The exact date is not recorded, nor is the editor’s name.
1981 The Rebels Group in Ashcroft is alive and thriving because 2 members refused to close down and join other groups.
1984 The Kalana Club in Kelowna hosted the first Saturday Morning Open Discussion Group on blustery November day with 11 members present.
1985 May/June edition of the Grassroots the cost was 75 cents
1987 Yukon Convention hosted a whopping 1800 people to its annual gala ball at the Vancouver Hyatt Regency. Tickets were $15.00
1997 A motion was made at the Duncan Voting Assembly to have a BC Yukon Web Site launched. Area #79 e-mail correspondence was in full swing.
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