hopeless2day

Anyone know what meetings were like back in the 50's?

Were the steps read, 9 step promises, how it works, etc....was all that read?

Was there the fathers prayer in the end with the holding of hands?

I'm curious if some of the stuff was added as it went along.

rws177

I watched the movie "My Name is Bill W" I found it to be insightful.

CarolD

One of the very first concepts about meetings
and one that still hold true.....

each AA group chooses what format that they will use
by holding a group concious meeting and votes.

I regularly attend 2 groups....and they have different formats.
Both have a mixture of newcomers and elders.
That's more important than who reads what IMO

Here is a good link to find out about AA meetings
tho it has nothing to do with the history of AA

http://www.bma-wellness.com/papers/F...A_Meeting.html

hopeless2day

Thanks CarolD!

ZZworldontheweb

However they worked the meetings, I'm sure they all looked smashing in their double-breasted flannel suits and fedoras!

Taking5

The best book I ever read about AA history is "Dr. Bob and the Good Oldtimers", it is the story of Dr. Bob's life. Great book, great read.

LetsGoJets

You were in your amends before you were brought to meetings. You needed an AA card to attend meetings, you couldnt just show up like it is today. There is an example of the AA card in the "Back to Basics" book by Wally P.

My home group has a "Pitch Meeting" once a quarter, and in September, 2010 Tom K, who had 56 years sober (after a relapse where he already had 5 years sober) spoke at our group. During his talk he said he attended meetings in Bill Wilson's house in Brooklyn. The talk didnt go on my group's website because the speaker used so many people's last names, it was too hard to edit everything out. It was a very good talk though and very different from what I am used to.

A good book you may wanna check out is Clarence Snyder's How It Worked. You can use search engines to find it online, i dont believe its still in print. Very good read.

omegasupreme

I second Clarence Snyder, you can still find a couple recordings or him speaking. His wit cracks me up, but it's hardcore AA in all it's purity. Not to mention "Back to Basics", excellent book, they worked some steps back in the day, no junior therapy sessions.