A New Era of A.A. History - Radio Show That Must Be Heard

A.A. History – The New Era

The Latest Christian Recovery Radio Show Today You Must Hear

www.ChristianRecoveryRadio.com

 

Dick B.

Copyright 2012 Anonymous. All rights reserved.

 

You Can Hear This Radio Show Right Now!

 

You may listen to Dick B. discuss the second of his two new books being released in August 2012 on the August 31, 2012, episode of the "Christian Recovery Radio with Dick B." show here:

http://goo.gl/eXLwB

 

or here:

 

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/christian-recovery-radio-with-dickb/2012/08/31/dick-b-discusses-his-second-title-released-this-month

 

Episodes of the "Christian Recovery Radio with Dick B." show are archived at:

 

www.ChristianRecoveryRadio.com

 

 

The Title of This Latest New Book by Dick B. and Ken B.

 

Bill W. and Dr. Bob, the Green Mountain Men of Vermont

The Roots of Early A.A.’s Original Program

 

______________________________________________________________________________

 

The Transition of A.A. History to This New Era

The Substantial, Supportive Commonality of the Christian Upbringing of Bill W. and Dr. Bob

 

1.      Twenty-two years of research, travel, interviews, reading, visits to libraries and archives, and analysis of the long-missing parts of Alcoholics Anonymous History

2.      The Conference in May, 2009 in Irvine, California where the hunger of Christian recovery leaders, workers, and newcomers for knowledge of A.A.’s Christian roots became a pressing issue; and it fostered the International Christian Recovery  Coalition

3.      The ensuing three years when the new Christian Recovery Movement became a worldwide endeavor to restore the  power and love  of God and His Son Jesus Christ, and the truth of the Bible  to actual fellowships, programs, meetings, resource centers, and media outlets.

4.      Our new conviction that a new era of A.A. History has begun. It  is the era of investigating, documenting, and reporting the commonality of, and applicability of, the First Century Christian Fellowship principles and practices abounding in Vermont, absorbed in the Christian upbringing of Bill Wilson, Dr. Bob Smith, and Ebby Thacher in their Vermont days

 

Substance of the Radio Show You Will Want to Hear Free, Learn, and Download

 

In our second special “Christian Recovery Radio with Dick B.” show, we highlighted our latest book, Bill W. and Dr. Bob, the Green Mountain Men of Vermont: The Roots of Early A.A.’s Original Program.

 

This special show is presented on the eve of our 10-day trip to Vermont where we will conduct A.A. history workshops in Burlington, St. Johnsbury, Northfield, Manchester, and East Dorset, Vermont. Places where one can find the real evidence of the Christian upbringings of three key figures in early A.A: (1) A.A. cofounder Bill Wilson; (2) A.A. cofounder Dr. Bob Smith; and (3) the man that Bill Wilson called his sponsor, Ebby Thacher.

 

We  presented a brief overview of the 13 chapters in our new book by highlighting five important topics covered in the book: (1) The long-overdue return to A.A.’s Vermont roots and the trails that led us there. (2) What was going on with Bill Wilson, his friend Ebby, Rowland Hazard, Shep Cornell, and Cebra Graves at East Dorset, Manchester, Burr and Burton Academy, and other Vermont locations. (3) St. Johnsbury individuals, organizations, and institutions that directly impacted Dr. Bob’s ideas. (4) How these happenings relate to A.A.’s “original program.” (5) How the detailed facts presented in our book can help others today.

 

dickb@dickb.com

 

Gloria Deo

Radio Interview: New Dick B. Book about Bill W. and Dr. Bob

 

 

 

 

Dick B discusses a second new book released this month

by Christian Recovery Radio with DickB

Thursday, August 30, 2012 05:00PM✎

www.ChristianRecoveryRadio.com

Copyright 2012 Anonymous. All rights reserved

In our second special “Christian Recovery Radio with Dick B.” show, we will highlight our latest book, Bill W. and Dr. Bob, the Green Mountain Men of Vermont: The Roots of Early A.A.’s Original Program. This special show is presented on the eve of our 10-day trip to Vermont where we will present A.A. history workshops in Burlington, St. Johnsbury, Northfield, Manchester, and East Dorset, Vermont. Places where one can find the real evidence of the Christian upbringings of three key figures in early A.A: (1) A.A. cofounder Bill Wilson; (2) A.A. cofounder Dr. Bob Smith; and (3) the man that Bill Wilson called his sponsor, Ebby Thacher.

We will present a brief overview of the 13 chapters in our new book by highlighting five important topics covered in the book: (1) The long-overdue return to A.A.’s Vermont roots and the trails that led us there. (2) What was going on with Bill Wilson, his friend Ebby, Rowland Hazard, Shep Cornell, and Cebra Graves at East Dorset, Manchester, Burr and Burton Academy, and other Vermont locations. (3) St. Johnsbury individuals, organizations, and institutions that directly impacted Dr. Bob’s ideas. (4) How these happenings relate to A.A.’s “original program.” (5) How the detailed facts presented in our book can help others today.

Christian Recovery Radio Interview of Dick B. on New Big Book Personal Stories Title

"Dick B discusses his new book released this month" on the August 29, 2012, episode of the "Christian Recovery Radio with Dick B." show on

 

www.ChristianRecoveryRadio.com

 

Dick B.

Copyright 2012 Anonymous. All rights reserved

 

The First of Two New Books by Dick B. and Ken B., A.A. Literature Frequently Mentioning God, His Son Jesus Christ &  the Bible: The Long Over-Looked Big Book Personal Stories

 

 

Hear the Radio Show Right Now

 

You may listen to Dick B. one of his two new books being released in August 2012 on the August 29, 2012, episode of the "Christian Recovery Radio with Dick B." show here:

http://goo.gl/APMzK

 

or here:

 

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/christian-recovery-radio-with-dickb/2012/08/30/dick-b-discusses-his-new-book-released-this-month

 

Episodes of the "Christian Recovery Radio with Dick B." show are archived at:

 

www.ChristianRecoveryRadio.com

 

 

Synopsis of Radio Interview of Dick

 

A.A. Literature Frequently Mentioning God, His Son Jesus Christ & the Bible:

The Long Over-looked Big Book Personal Stories

By Dick B. and Ken B.

 

 

Today’s interview is one of two specials. Both were prepared for presentation, discussion, and instruction at the forthcoming Vermont A.A. History Workshops September 3 to 9, 2012

 

The book was written because of the large number of Christians in Alcoholics Anonymous who just don’t know how much of their own Conference-approved Personal Stories of the Early A.A. Christian Fellowship are being overlooked today, and therefore lacking in authority and  application.

 

This new book is a “must” for those who know and want to apply the power and love of God in A.A. and 12-Step Fellowships today. It shows why the threatening language about early A.A.’s supposed “flying blind” and “trial and error” and “uneducated groping” with “many mistakes” have caused the real effectiveness of the Akron A.A. Christian Fellowship to become lost.

 

A new A.A. publication Experience, Strength and Hope: Stories from the First Three Editions of Alcoholics Anonymous has put an end to the assertion that the early stories of not “conference-approved” and that they are not relevant today. It has “loosed the chains” around the necks of those in A.A. meetings who want to talk about God, about Jesus Christ, about the Bible, about the Early A.A. Christian Fellowship program in Akron, about the Personal Stories in any edition (stories that show how the Akron program was being practiced, and stories that frequently mention how much the pioneers spoke about and relied upon God, His Son Jesus Christ, and the Bible

 

We review story after story containing precise descriptions by pioneers of how they successfully followed the seven point original program summarized on page 131 of DR. BOB and the Good Oldtimers. They demonstrate the explicit references to God, Jesus Christ, and the Bible in their own Big Book Personal Stories.

 

Then, we show how the damaging handwritten  insertion in the printer’s manuscript has caused so many newcomers to think they need not believe in God, or that they can choose “a” god of their own conception, or that some absurd name for a higher power such as light bulb, chair, or Santa Claus will suffice. But none of these ideas is representative of A.A. before 1939.

 

We show how the original A.A. idea--that a vital religious experience brings about the solution described in the Big Book and emanating from Bill Wilson’s own story--has been removed and watered down from a spiritual experience to a spiritual awakening to an “awareness” to a personality change.

 

The reader will truly be awakened to the reason the personal stories—long removed from the Big Book, edition by edition and piece by piece—throw a reliable life saver to seemingly hopeless newcomers today wondering if they can seek and receive help from Almighty God.

 

Find out why you can freely discuss God, Jesus Christ, the Bible, the early A.A. Christian Fellowship, the Personal Stories from any of the four editions of Alcoholics Anonymous. Find out you have been loosed from the chains which have caused others to condemn you as violating Traditions or quoting from Non Conference—approved literature (which doesn’t exist), or pointing to something not relevant in 12 Step Fellowships today.  Tell others the personal stories of those who wrote in the First Edition of the Big Book exactly how they practiced the early A.A. program summarized by A.A. itself in DR. BOB and the Good Oldtimers, page 131.

 

Now you can read the principles and practices of the early A.A. program in DR. BOB and the Good Oldtimers. And now you can read the personal stories of those pioneers who shared their own experience, in their own language, and from their own point of view how they relied on God, Jesus Christ, and the Bible for their astonishing recoveries. You can read those stories in A.A. General Service Conference-approved literature.

 

dickb@dickb.com

 

Gloria Deo

 

 

 

 

 

A.A. History and 12 Step Origins, Roots, Sources

Alcoholics Anonymous History, Origins of the Twelve Steps: It is important to distinguish among several disconnected facts about the source of the Twelve Steps:
(1) For four years, there was no Big Book, and there were no Steps. So said Dr. Bob. Dr. Bob also stated (as quoted in the Cofounders P  -5 3 Pamphlet) that He didn't write the 12 Steps and had nothing to do with the writing of them. But he said he believed that the study and effort in the Bible enabled him to say that the basic ideas for the Steps came from the Bible.
(2) The first set of Twelve Steps, said Bill, in A.A. Comes of Age, consistently used the word "God." No higher power. No as we understood him. No power greater than ourselves. God--as repeatedly described in the Big Book--was "the God of the Scriptures" that Bill spoke of in Towns Hospital. And he was described in biblical terms as Creator, Maker, Father, Father of Lights, Heavenly Father, and God.
(3) The last minute change in the Printer's Manuscript eliminated God from the Steps. It was changed in the hand-written "choose your own conception" insertion. It was changed to placate atheists and agnostics. And it caused decades of AAs to call their "higher power" God, the AA group, Santa Claus, Something, Somebody, Ralph, Tree, Table, Chair, and "it." For sure, this nonsense came from nowhere but the wisdom of the rooms and the diddling of treatment folks.
( 4 ) Back now to the Step sources:  Which Steps? When? Where. Bill's last explanation was that the First Step came from Silkworth. The Twelfth Step came from Professor William James. And the other ten  steps came from the teachings of Rev. Samuel M. Shoemaker, Jr.--whom Bill had actually asked to write the steps, but  who declined.
(5)  What then is their origin? Bible? Shoemaker? Someone's own conception? The reader will have to deal with those choices. I simply prefer history and the Bible that early AAs  used and called the Good Book: www.dickb.com/goodbook.shtml.

See A.A.'s History and Roots in Vermont - At Last!

Exploration of the Entire Historical Roots and Training of A.A. Cofounders in Vermont
Dick B.
Copyright 2012 Anonymous. All rights reserved.


There is much to be learned, absorbed, discussed, and passed on to those who still suffer from alcoholism and addiction. And it has to do with God, Jesus Christ, and the Bible. It has to do with their role in early A.A. people and organizations, and the founding and program of early A.A. An d it certainly has to do with restoring this option to full view in today's recovery scene in general and Anonymous Fellowships in particular. Moreover, it is centered around the Vermont origins of Alcoholics Anonymous.

Our September workshops will help you tie together thoroughly tangled and ignored Christian ubringing and training of our cofounders as youngsters in Vermont. What training? What upbringing? Where in Vermont? Who was involved?

First, Bill Wilson learned of his grandfather Willie (the alcoholic), Willie's ascent to Mount Aeolus in East Dorset, his conversion and cure of alcoholism which he related to his entire church. Second, the deep involvement of Bill's grandparents -- the Griffiths and theWilsons--in East Dorset Congregational Church - which still lies between the Griffith House and the Wilson House in East Dorset. Third, the involvement of Bill's parents, their marriage in, and their first home in the parsonage of East Dorset Congregational Church. Fourth, Bill's attendance at that church, its Sunday school, its sermons, hymns, Scripture teaching, prayers, conversion meetings, temperance meetings, revivals, and tent meetings. Next, Bill's study of the Bible with his grandfather Griffith. Then Bill's attendance at Burr and Burton Academy (in nearby Manchester), the daily required chapel (he attended with his girl-friend Bertha Bamford). the required prayers and Sunday school preparations, the attendance at Manchester Congregational Church, the presidency of the YMCA by Bill, the presidency of t he YWCA by his girl friend Bertha, and the four year required Bible study Bill took there.

Then there's Bill's life-time friend Ebby Thacher. Ebby's family had five generations of clergy in its lineage. It had connections with the Episcopal, Presbyterian, and First Reformed churches. Ebby boarded with the pastor (Rev. Sidney Perkins) of the First Congregational Church of Manchester while he and Bill were attending Burr and Burton . Bill and Ebby both attended Norwich Military Academy in Northfield--where there was required daily chapel (with sermons, Scripture, hymns, and prayers); where there was Bible study and required church attendance, and where there was substantial Young Men's Christian Association presence and activity.

In Manchester, Glastenbury, and Bennington, Bill received much Christian instruction about Christ , the Bible, and the importance of prayer f rom the Reverend Perkins family, Shep Cornell, Cebra Graves, and Rowland Hazard.

And there will be two new books about these things - ready in draft form at the workshops.

What about Dr. Bob? Lots more to learn--particularly about the similarity of the Christian and Bible training Bill, Ebby, and Bob all had in Vermont. See Dr. Bob of Alcoholics Anonymous www.dickb.com/drbobofaa.shtml. It thoroughly covers the Congregational beliefs, participation, and instructions from Bob's parents, North Congregational church creeds and confessions and sermons and Bible teaching and Sunday school, and Christian Endeavor Society and Young Men's Christian Association. Also the entire agenda at St. Johnsbury Academy -- daily chapel, required church attendance, required Bible study, prayer sessions, Young Men's Christian Association, and classes.

With our group in Vermont, we will be preparing and discussing and putting together--for the first time--this entire scene. And we will cover the influence of the Great Awakening of 1875, the evangelists, YMCA brethren , rescue missions, Salvation Army, United Christian Endeavor Society, and eary Oxford Group roots and practices.

For details, contact dickb@dickb.com, 808 874 4876

Burlington, St. Johnsbury, Northfield, Manchester, and East Dorset will give you the first important opportunity to see the entire Christian upbringing of Dr. Bob, Bill Wilson, Bertha Bamford, Ebby Thacher and others as catalyzed by their common friendships and beliefs as youngsters.

See http://MauiHistorian.Blogspot.com
Gloria Deo

Many Questions About Early AA That Vermont History Can Answer

Alcoholics Anonymous History

 

Questions the Vermont Workshops May Help You Answer

 

Dick B.

Copyright 2012 Anonymous. All rights reserved

 

The Relationship of A.A.’s Vermont  Roots to the Original A.A. Program

 

The relationship of all these Vermont happenings [the ones covered in our new title, Bill W. and Dr. Bob, the Green Mountain Men of Vermont: The Roots of Early A.S.’s Original Program, and those which will be investigated, discussed, evaluated, and reported at the September 2012 International Christian Recovery Coalition workshops in Vermont] to A.A.’s Original Program Founded in Akron in 1935 by Bill W. and Dr. Bob

 

What the Christian Upbringing of A.A.’s Cofounders Will Reveal

 

The Vermont-related origins of A.A. point to that time when A.A.’s cofounders were youngsters growing up, and later remembered so many of the lessons they had heard, learned, and formerly believed, as they found themselves struggling with and winning out over alcoholism.

 

The Questions Asked, and The Questions Answered

 

The following are a few of the answers the Vermont history makes available for AAs and Christian recovery leaders and workers to ponder and prove to themselves today:

 

•           The reason why Dr. Bob said the basic ideas of A.A. came from the Bible.

 

•           The reason why Dr. Bob called early Akron A.A. a “Christian Fellowship.”

 

•           The reason why all who saw the summary of the Akron program prepared by Rockefeller’s agent Frank Amos exclaimed, in one way or another: “Why this is First Century Christianity.”

 

•           The reason why the Oxford Group’s first name—“A First Century Christian Fellowship”—gave a signal as to its relationship with Jesus Christ and First Century Christianity’s daily fellowship, principles, and practices.

 

•           The reason for the two A.A. ideas: “Love and service” and “Love and Tolerance.” And the relationship to these of 1 Corinthians 13—a segment of the Bible early AAs considered “absolutely essential.”

 

•           The reason why both Dr. Bob and Bill W. said that Jesus’s Sermon on the Mount contained the underlying spiritual philosophy of A.A. And the fact that so many of A.A.’s Twelve Step ideas clearly came from Matthew chapters 5, 6, and 7.

 

•           The reason why there are so many quotes from, and ideas derived from, the Book of James—an A.A. favorite and absolute “essential.”

The reason why the Big Book and A.A.’s Twelve Steps contain so many quotes or ideas identifiable in and Jesus’s Sermon on the Mount.

 

•           The reason why so many of the old school Akron A.A. practices were focused—as were the Acts of the Apostles—on daily fellowship, daily prayer, daily study of God’s word, daily breaking of bread, daily communication in the Temple and the homes, and daily witnessing.

 

•           The reason why the Big Book contains so many unqualified references to “God,” to pronouns referring to God, and to biblical descriptions of God such as Creator, Maker, Heavenly Father, Father, Spirit, and Father of Lights.

 

•           The reason why all early AAs were required to profess a belief in God and to accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.

 

•           The reason why early AAs had Bible study, prayer meetings, Quiet Time, real surrenders to God through Christ, daily fellowship and meetings, daily visits and breaking of bread in the homes of AAs and their families.

 

•           The reason why the “Lord’s Prayer” was part and parcel of every early A.A. meeting; and the reason why “Thy will be done” was given such prominence in the Big Book.

 

•           The reason why ministry and service to God and to others was foundational in A.A. literature and practice.

 

•           The reason why there was so much reading in early A.A. about Jesus, his life, his teachings, his healings, his power, his love, his crucifixion, his sacrifice for us, his resurrection, and his ascension and place at the right hand of God, from which we await his return.

 

The reason why Dr. Bob’s wife Anne Smith taught from her journal that the Bible ought to be the main Source Book of all.

 

•           The reason for looking at the upbringing of the founders in light of Proverbs 22:6.

 

The reason why the principles, practices, and ideas one is taught in the home, by the parents, in in church, in Sunday school, during the younger years, and from kindergarten through high school are—by sheer repetition—so well remembered and later recalled and often heeded after hurtful intervening travail.

 

•           The reason for believing Bill Wilson, Dr. Bob, and A.A. Number Three when each said he had been “cured” of alcoholism.

 

•           The reason why the biblical ideas of fellowship with God and His son, communicating with them, praying to them, studying the Bible about them, absorbing biblical truths, widespread reading of Christian literature, conversion, and witnessing can be found in the root organizations and people who practiced the principles and practices found later in early A.A.

These foundational “old school A.A.” principles and practices are found in the Great Awakening of 1875; the Young Men’s Christian Association and its non-denominational outreach; the rescue missions and their emphasis of salvation and the Bible; the Salvation Army and its emphasis on salvation, the Bible and working with others; the Great Evangelists and their conversions and healings and preaching of the Word of God; the Young People’s Society of Christian Endeavor and its practices; and the early principles and practices of “A First Century  Christian Fellowship” called the Oxford Group and espoused so long by Bill’s mentor Dr. Samuel M. Shoemaker.

 

•           The reason why the original personal stories in the First Edition of Alcoholics Anonymous so simply and clearly testified to the way AAs in the Midwest implemented the principles and practices of the Akron Christian Fellowship and why those same personal stories made no mention of the Twelve Steps or the Big Book itself—for the simple reason that neither the Twelve Steps nor the Big Book had been completed or published when the Akronites were writing their stories under Dr. Bob’s supervision. And for the further reason that Dr. Bob said, of the period from 1935  through 1939, “I didn’t write the Twelve Steps. I had nothing to do with the writing of them.”

 

Arguments still persist that AAs cannot be cured and that early AAs (including the cofounders who expressly said they were cured) were mistaken, uneducated, and misled though they originally and uniformly said they had been cured by the power of God. And and though their distinguished expert Dr. Silkworth said he had treated several who were “ permanently cured.”

 

Disputes still continue over the accuracy of early A.A. success rates (75% claimed in Akron; and 93% documented in Cleveland). But little or nothing is said about the simple, early Christian Fellowship message effectively developed and employed for those who wanted God’s help, who went thoroughly and to any length to get it, and who then helped others accomplish the same objective.

 

Yet Bill’s message was that the Lord had cured him; Dr. Bob’s message was that “Your Heavenly Father will never let you down;” and Bill D.’s message that this was the “golden text” of A.A. And each and all of the first three AAs all proclaimed the validity and reliability of the  message for alcoholics who still suffer.

 

Why? Because their simple messages rested on the necessity for belief in God, for establishing a relationship with Him through Jesus Christ, for renouncing alcohol forever, for going to any lengths to do just that, for obeying and relying on the power of God, and for helping others get well via the same path.

 

We think a new light will shine before you and show you what A.A. can really do today if its Vermont heritage is coupled with the Christian upbringing of the cofounders and with the Christian healing techniques they learned from their Vermont brothers and sisters before there was even a thought of A.A. as a solution to alcoholism and addiction.

 

The light comes from the shining beacon enlightening all future alcoholics that each of the first three AAs succeeded in that  path before the first A.A. group was founded on July 4, 1935.

dickb@dickb.com

 

Gloria Deo

 

Bill W. and Dr. Bob, the Green Mountain Men of Vermont

Bill W. and Dr. Bob, the Green Mountain Men of Vermont: The Roots of Early A.A.'s Original Program - Dick B. and Ken B. [a major new resource title for the September workshops in Vermont]

A.A. History: 20 Personal Stories in the Big Book 1st Edition

20 Personal Stories in “the Printer’s Copy” of Alcoholics Anonymous

As Seen in The Book That Started It All

(in Alphabetical Order)

 

A Business Man’s Recovery

A Different Slant

A Feminine Drinker

A Ward of the Probate Court

** Ace Full—Seven—Eleven   [** Del Tryon’s personal story—not included in first edition **]

 

Fired Again

Home Brewmeister

My Wife and I

Our Southern Friend

Riding the Rods

 

Smile with Me, at Me

The Back-Slider

The Doctor’s Nightmare

The European Drinker

The Fearful One

 

The Salesman

The Seven Month Slip

The Unbeliever

Traveler, Editor, Scholar

Truth Freed Me!

 

 

** 10 Personal Stories Not in “the Printer’s Copy” of Alcoholics Anonymous That Were Included in the First Edition (1939)—for a total of 29 personal stories in the first edition.

 

A Close Shave

An Alcoholic’s Wife

An Artist’s Conception

Another Prodigal Story

Educated Agnostic

 

Hindsight

Lone Endeavor

On His Way

The Car Smasher

The Rolling Stone

Vermont Roots of AA, September Workshops

Alcoholics Anonymous History with Dick B. and Ken B.

 

Vermont Roots Workshop Meetings: September 2-9, 2012

 

Tentative Agenda Items

 

By Dick B.

© 2012 Anonymous. All rights reserved

 

September 2-3: Sheraton Burlington, Burlington, Vermont

 

Sunday evening, September 2

 

·         Get-acquainted gathering for those who will be traveling with us to St. Johnsbury on Monday morning, September 3.

·         Review of resources to be used:

 

o   Dick B. and Ken B., Bill W. and Dr. Bob: Green Mountain Men of Vermont (2012—new!)

o   Dick B. and Ken B., A.A. Literature Frequently Mentioning God, His Son Jesus Christ & the Bible: The Long-Overlooked Big Book Personal Stories (2012—new!);

o   Dick B. and Ken B., Dr. Bob of Alcoholics Anonymous: His Excellent Training in the Good Book as a Youngster in Vermont;

o   Dick B., The Conversion of Bill W.: More on the Creator’s Role in Early A.A.;

o   Alcoholics Anonymous: The Original 1939 Edition (Mineola, NY: Dover Publications, 2011): http://goo.gl/5fPLB; and

o   The Early Manuscripts at Stepping Stones, compiled by Dick B. (Kihei, HI; August 2012).

 

·         Suggestions and questions from participants.

·         Kickoff gathering before leaving for St. Johnsbury.

 

September 3-6: Comfort Inn & Suites, St. Johnsbury, Vermont

 

Monday, September 3

 

·         Get-acquainted gathering for those who will be involved in the St. Johnsbury events.

·         Review of evidence obtained, evidence available, and suggestions from participants

·         Suggested agenda: Discussion of a tour of St. Johnsbury:

o   The St. Johnsbury Academy and its archives;

o   The St. Johnsbury Athenaeum (library);

o   The courthouse in St. Johnsbury;

o   The former location of the St. Johnsbury Young Men’s Christian Association building on Eastern Avenue in St. Johnsbury

o   North Congregational Church, St. Johnsbury, and its “Dr. Bob Core Library;”

o   The Fairbanks Museum in St. Johnsbury; and

o   Dr. Bob’s birthplace and boyhood home on Summer Street.

 

Tuesday, September 4:

 

·         Morning gathering.

·         Tour of St. Johnsbury: Noon A.A. meeting at Dr. Bob’s house (optional).

·         Special questions about St. Johnsbury still pending or to be investigated.

·         Panel workshop reviewing:

o   “The Great Awakening” of  1875 in St. Johnsbury;

o   Conversions and transformations;

o   The Fairbanks family;

o   The Smith family;

o   The importance of North Congregational Church, St. Johnsbury;

o   The importance of the Young Men’s Christian Association in St. Johnsbury;

o   The importance of the United Society of Christian Endeavor;

o   The St. Johnsbury Athenaeum resources; and

o   The St. Johnsbury Academy library and archives.

·         Evening gathering and review.

 

Wednesday, September 5:

 

·         Morning gathering.

·         Special interests, questions, and desired investigations by participants.

·         Dedication of “Dr. Bob’s Core Library.”

·         Panel workshop to put together the St. Johnsbury scene and how the lessons learned from it can be used in Christian recovery efforts today.

·         Evening gathering and review.

 

Thursday, September 6:

 

·         Special trip to Northfield, Vermont, and then to Northfield, Massachusetts (on the way to Manchester:

o   Norwich Military Academy in Northfield, Vermont (where Bill attended school); and

o   Northfield, Massachusetts: birthplace, boyhood home, and home in later of life of Dwight L. Moody; site of the Moody schools for young girls and boys; home of the Moody Bible conference, and location where the Student Volunteer movement began.

 

September 6-8: Avalanche Motel, Manchester, Vermont

 

[Manchester is the location of: (a) Burr and Burton Seminary (now Burr and Burton Academy), where Bill attended school; (b) First Congregational Church (where Ebby Thacher boarded with its minister, Rev. Sidney K. Perkins), (c) Zion Episcopal Church (where the father of Bill’s girl friend, Bertha Bamford, was Rector); (d) the Thacher family summer home; (e) the Burnham family summer home; (f) the Manchester Courier newspaper; (g) the Manchester Historical Society; and (g) the Manchester libraries.]

 

Friday, September 7:

 

·         Morning gathering to review evidence and hear what’s already been unearthed; decisions on which places various participants are willing to search.

·         Questions about Burr and Burton Seminary, First Congregational Church records, Rev. Perkins records, newspapers and library and archive records. (Neal Britner will have some ideas and reports based on his many years of research in Manchester.)

·         Visits, if desired, to Burr and Burton, the Congregational and Episcopal churches, the libraries, and the Manchester Historical Society.

·         Visits, if desired, to the Rowland Hazard home in Glastenbury, Vermont.

·         Panel workshop with questions, answers, evidence, suggestions on the entire Wilson-Thacher-Hazard-Cornell-Graves-Bamford picture.

·         Evening gathering.

 

Saturday, September 8: Morning gathering to plan agenda.

 

·         Visit, if desired, to The Wilson House, the Griffith House Library (to which Dick B. donated hundreds of his research books and thousands of pages of documents and other historically-important items), and/or the East Dorset Cemetery.

·         Visit planned to Rutland to check out the Grace Congregational Church, data on the time the Gilman and Emily Wilson family spent in Rutland, the city newspaper, the city’s historical society, and library records of the Wilsons: including church and United Society of Christian Endeavor links, if any.

·         Leave for Burlington in the late afternoon.

 

September 8-9: Sheraton Burlington, Burlington, Vermont

 

Saturday evening, September 8:

 

·         Possible evening gathering for preliminary review of Northfield, Manchester, East Dorset, and Rutland lessons.

 

Sunday, September 9:

 

·         Morning gathering to review workshops, evidence, utilization of findings.

·         Trip to University of Vermont Library to scout out additional evidence.

·         [Sunday evening, around 5:00 pm:] Dick B. and Ken B. depart from Burlington Airport Sunday evening.