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A copy of a 1947 letter exists
in the Suffolk Intergroup Association Archives from Bill W., the
co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous to the Huntington Group congratulating it on
its first anniversary. We can trace AA's beginnings back even earlier. It was in
March 1941 that the famous Jack Alexander story about Alcoholics Anonymous
appeared in the Saturday Evening Post. Soon after that article A.A.
headquarters in New York City tried to send one known A.A. on Long Island to a veteran's
home on the grounds of the Kings Park State Hospital. How that Twelve Step call
turned out we may never find out but along the way other alcoholics did sober
up. We have copies of newspaper articles that document this. One article from
the March 1, 1945 Huntington Times said "there are several members holding
regular meetings at the home of a senior member" This is two years before
the Bill W. letter was written!
By the
end of the 1940s we had active and established groups in Huntington,
Sayville, Bay Shore, Kings Park, Southampton, Amityville and East Hampton. For
some reason the Riverhead group stopped meeting and its members moved over to
Southampton but would reappear in the 1950s with renewed vigor. Such is the
resiliency of Suffolk AAs. No matter what is thrown at us we bounce back, sober!
In the late 1940s, a meeting was
started on a sleepy summer resort community called Fire Island. Some sources
say it was started by the first lady to maintain continuous sobriety in Alcoholics
Anonymous---Marty M. Around this time, according to information found at
A.A.'s World Services Archives in Manhattan, a clubhouse called So So existed
in Bridgehampton. Not much is known about it but this can end the debate
whether or not any clubhouses ever existed in Suffolk County. At least two more
clubhouses would pop up over the years. One behind an auto repair shop in
Ronkonkoma and another above a saloon in Islip.
As
Suffolk County grew in the 1950s, so did Alcoholics Anonymous. The newest additions
to our rolls were Babylon Mid-Island, Brentwood, Northport, Patchogue, and
Wyandanch as well as the newest incarnation of the Riverhead group. This time
it flourished and still meets to this day. Notices about A.A. meetings that
began in the 1940s in the East Hampton Star continued to appear in other
newspapers from Huntington to Northport to Patchogue. All of these articles
spoke of the miracle of recovery happening to alcoholics everywhere through
A.A.
The
1960s were truly active and at least 20 groups joined the roster. Meetings
sprouted from Copaigue to Greenport (then known as Southold-Greenport) with
stops along the way in Port Jefferson, Stony Brook, Centereach, Dix Hills and
Bohemia to name just a few. The East Moriches group was born in Center Moriches
and would move back and forth from East to Center a couple of times before
settling in the East version of Moriches.
In
1966, several groups on the east end of Long Island banded together and formed
an answering service to better assist the suffering alcoholics. The eastern
groups each committed to contribute a set amount of money to keep this service
afloat. This was to eventually evolve into our present hotline. The service
appears to have been headquartered in a motel out in Quogue. No doubt it saved
many lives by providing service up close and personal. Previously all phone
calls for help were handled out of New York City.
By 1970 A.A. had grown considerably in Suffolk, and the need for a more
centralized service was apparent. The answering service was extended county
wide with a majority of the groups contributing to the support of the service.
In addition to answering calls for help and information, there were referrals
for Twelve Step activity and meeting lists were compiled and distributed. In
the phone directory the number for Suffolk Alcoholics Anonymous was still
a New York City number and this caused trouble. Issues with phone calls to
Manhattan became increasingly problematic. Phone calls were not being answered
quickly enough. One old-timer advised the Archives that a phone call
placed to New York would result in a post card being mailed to someone in
Suffolk County days later! The A.A.s answering phone calls were unaware of the
geography of Suffolk County and a Twelve Step call for help from someone in
Montauk would be referred to someone in Queens. Many times the suffering
alcoholic was reluctant to invest in the price of a long distance phone call.
Efforts to resolve this ended in an impasse.
In May of 1973 a unanimous vote
established full Intergroup status. With 85 groups throughout Suffolk County
and with over 190 meetings a week, it was time for Suffolk County to declare
its independence. This was met with considerable resistance from Manhattan and
among some staunch Suffolk loyalists. Problems with the phone listing being
listed incorrectly in the phone directory continued for at least one more year
with letters written back and forth to rectify it. Change is not something that
is met all the time with open arms. In time, however, bruised egos gave way to
the time honored Tradition of placing principles above personalities.
Suffolk
Intergroup was on its own, blessed with enthusiasm but fraught with the
expected growing pains. These growing pains still exist at times thirty five
years later. To celebrate our newly founded independence, the first
Share-A-Thon was held at the old Colonie Hill in Hauppauge in 1975 hundreds
attended. A huge banquet complete with a live orchestra topped off a day of
workshops. With the exception of one year, the Share-A-Thon has continued to be
an annual event, although the banquet has long since been discontinued due to
the increasing expense.
The Suffolk Intergroup
Association continues to provide much needed services and outreach to the
alcoholic both in and out of the rooms of Alcoholics Anonymous. Thanks to our
membership, all positions are voluntary. None of the staff is a paid
employee. This is Twelve Step work at its purest but as anyone will tell you
service is what keeps us sober. We cannot keep it unless we give it away.
The Suffolk Intergroup office is
kept open six days a week by an all volunteer staff of recovering alcoholics
who handle incoming phone calls and provide meeting lists and literature. Our
24 hour a day hotline is also manned by AAs. Each incoming call is referred to
another member of Alcoholics Anonymous. A Twelve Step list is maintained for
that purpose and updated yearly.
Other
SIA committees include Public Information which works to provide information
about Alcoholics Anonymous to the public at large. Treatment Facilities works
to make sure that rehabs, hospitals and outpatient agencies have necessary
literature and onsite meetings as requested. The Corrections Committee carries
the A.A. message to those inside the penal system, with literature and
meetings. Third Legacy reaches out to those in Alcoholics Anonymous and
reinforces the valuable necessity of doing service work. The Archives Committee
works on preserving our wonderful history. The SIA Bulletin is issued each
month with the express mission of keeping Suffolk A.A.s aware of pertinent news
and events. The Schools Committee carries our message to students and teachers
from grade school to college. The Webmaster sees to it that the SIA website is
up to date and running smoothly so that easy access and quick information can
be obtained from our website. Special Events coordinates various
functions many of which are designed to show that sobriety can be fun. Our
counterparts at General Services arrange for improved communications between
the Suffolk A.A. groups and General Services in New York City. Although the
Share-A-Thon is held in the fall every year, preparations for it are year long.
All committees continue to need volunteers to continue
In Suffolk Intergroup Association's 35th year (2008), the number of groups has
sky rocketed to 328 offering about 733 different meetings weekly. From the
early morning to midnight there are meetings of all sorts throughout the day
across the county. The meetings have been as diverse as the membership itself.
We have held meetings on beaches, in parks and parking lots, in colleges,
high schools and grade schools, hospitals, treatment centers,
jails, yoga studios, coffee shops, sporting good stores, music halls,
municipal buildings of all sorts, tire shops, recording studios, above saloons
and below restaurants and of course, in synagogues, and churches of various
denominations. Wherever we do meet we share our experience, strength and hope
with each other as we have since June 10, 1935. We are bound together by our
mutual recovery and this band of once hopeless alcoholics tries to live life
happy, joyous and free, one day at a time.
SIA Archives Committee
September 1, 2008
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