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By late 1939, Cleveland had organized several groups, and to coordinate their efforts, the first Intergroup of Alcoholics Anonymous, known as the Central Committee, was established. (Possibly a reason we often refer to the Cleveland District Office as “Central Office” today.) By 1942, the United States had entered World War II. To maintain communication with our members who were being relocated, printer Harry D initiated A.A.’s first newsletter, titled “Central Bulletin”, which began publication in October 1942.
After ten years of publication, Harry created bound copies of the Central Bulletin for sale, producing two years’ worth in each book (pictured below). A complete set was sent to the GSO Archives in New York.
“This first edition of the Bulletin is merely an outline of what we intend to produce in the future. It is not intended to be a monthly report of only central committees activities, but is intended to be a reporting of service of all groups in Cuyahoga County.” The article reads:
At the 1998 National Archives Workshop in Akron, Clevelander Bob McK. met with historian Ernie K and Paul L., the archivist for Stepping Stones. They emphasized the importance of digitizing the early Central Bulletins to make them accessible to all A.A. archivists and historians.
Bob obtained permission to proceed, and Lorain archivist Kevin S. undertook the work to realize this goal. The outcome was the first fifty years of the Central Bulletin available on compact disk.
If you’d like to contribute your group’s news, milestones or musings to the Central Bulletin, feel free to email us.
Staff
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the policy or position of the AA Cleveland District Office.
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