Appendix C:
An Early Washington AA ChronologyThis appendix shows, in a general way, how Alcoholics Anonymous has grown in the Washington area. Most of the information is preserved in the Banquet programs, Where and When collection, and newspaper articles preserved in the Washington Area Intergroup Association Archives.
An exact count of AA groups in the area was impossible given the loosely organized nature of Alcoholics Anonymous fellowship and changing recordkeeping practices over time. During the early years it was possible to count groups and compile a list of the growth of groups. But by the early 1960s that task became tedious, and the significance of the findings became questionable. The questions became how would a "group" be defined and was it the number of groups or the number of meetings that was most important. It was decided that the total number of meetings was more important than the number of named groups. In 1983, for example, it seemed more important to know that there were 991 meetings in the area each week than that there were 561 different groups. The 991 meetings could be further broken down into 300 daytime meetings and 691 evening meetings.
Over time the geographical area covered by Where and When schedules changed, and this caused distortion in the statistics. Also, decisions concerning what meetings to include in the Where and When affected the totals; for example, in 1992 the addition of a number of Spanish meetings increased the numbers, and a 1995 decision to count fewer Virginia meetings lowered the count.
The Washington Group
1937 Fitz M. and Florence R. work in the Washington, DC area as loners. There may have been others 1939 staying sober, but no permanent AA groups were formed. 1939 The book Alcoholics Anonymous is published and the Alcoholic Foundation began to receive calls for help from all over the country. In the fall Fitz M. moves to Washington and the "boys of '39" meet to form the Washington Group. 1940 The Washington Group holds meetings in the homes of members, then moved to the VFW Hall, the Burlington Hotel, the Hamilton Hotel, and finally to a clubhouse at 1310 Massachusetts Ave. They grow from six members early in January to over 70 by November. 1941 The Washington Group clubhouse moves to 1401 14th Street. 1943 The group holds its First Annual Banquet on January 23, 1943, and 300 attend. 1944 The group continues to meet at 1401 14th St. and over 450 attend the Second Annual Banquet. Later the group holds a Great Open Public Meeting at Central High School at which 600 attend. During the war years the group has a large group of members from the Washington press corps. 1945 The Washington Group moves its clubhouse to 1368 Euclid Street and becomes a parent group as new groups form. The new groups are: Southeast Group, Virginia Group at Arlington, Uptown Group at Chevy Chase, Negro Group (later known as the Cosmopolitan Group) 1946 More new groups form, including: Alexandria Columbia Pike Silver Spring Georgetown (may have started in late 1945) 1947 The Washington Parent Group becomes known as the Central Group and the clubhouse moves to 1012 H. Street. The Southeast Group folds. By this time there were special groups called" Squads" which were formed to help newcomers into the fellowship. 1948 Ten groups in the area hold a total of 17 meetings per week. 1950 Sixteen area groups are formed, including: Alexandria, Arlington (parent), Arlington No.3, South Arlington, Bethesda Suburban, Central, Chevy Chase, Colmar Manor, Cosmopolitan, Fairfax, Falls Church, Friendship, Georgetown, Intergroup Beginners, Silver Spring, Southeast, and Rockville. 1951 The Washington Area Intergroup Association is formed. Shown below are selected years showing the number of AA meetings listed in the Washington Area Where and When schedules. 1954 36 meetings listed for 22 groups 1957 78 meetings listed for 45 groups 1960 92 meetings listed for 51 groups 1962 101 meetings 1964 129 meetings 1966 150 meetings 1968 176 meetings 1969 213 meetings 1970 296 meetings 1972 344 meetings 1973 397 meetings 1974 507 meetings 1975 523 meetings 1976 619 meetings 1978 630 meetings 1979 642 meetings 1980 708 meetings 1981 775 meetings 1982 868 meetings 1983 991 meetings 1985 990 meetings 1987 1032 meetings 1989 1080 meetings 1990 1140 meetings 1992 1408 meetings 1993 1505 meetings 1994 1905 meetings 1995 1870 meetings