Clarence Snyder 1982

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Clarence Snyder and Cleveland, Ohio A.A.


Dr. Bob Smith sponsored Clarence Snyder. Clarence met Dr. Bob in Akron City Hospital February 11, 1938, the date Clarence celebrated as his sobriety date for the next forty-six years.


Clarence was among the first 40 members of AA and his story is included in the first three versions of 'the Big Book' as AA #11, "The Home Brewmeister". He was part of the counseling team that wrote the Big Book.


Clarence, the "HOME BREWMEISTER" passed along the specific Bible, Oxford Group, and devotional ideas that enabled early AAs to succeed so well. Moreover, Clarence, like Dr. Bob, felt there was no need to stay sick.


People could recover; and alcoholics who took the Steps, trusted God, and abided by the Four Absolutes (Honesty, Purity, Unselfishness and Love) did recover and stayed recovered. Bob took people through the six steps in an afternoon.

Clarence took thousands through the Twelve Steps in two days.


The first gathering of what was known as an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting was held on May 11, 1939, at the home of Abby G. in Cleveland Heights, Ohio. Nell Wing, Bill Wilson's secretary from 1947 until his death in 1971 and A.A.'s first archivist said that Clarence was rightly the first person to use the initials A.A. in reference to Alcoholics Anonymous.

Other early innovations credited to Clarence are:

* STARTED BEGINNERS CLASSES TO TAKE THE STEPS !

* Forming the first Central Committee in A.A.,

* Developing A.A.'s first newsletter, the Bulletin to All Groups that in 1942 became the Cleveland Central Bulletin,

* Initiated the practice of rotation of officers both at meetings and with the Central Committee,

* Wrote A.A.'s first pamphlet on sponsorship in 1944, and,

* Helped organize a convention celebrating A.A.'s 10th anniversary in Cleveland. Over 3000 AA's attended representing over 25 states and Canada. This was A.A.'s first unofficial international convention.







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HOW IT WORKED
THE STORY OF CLARENCE H. SNYDER
AND THE EARLY DAYS OF ALCOHOLICS
ANONYMOUS IN CLEVELAND, OHIO



BY MITCHELL K.