[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 91 (Thursday, June 17, 2010)]
[Senate]
[Page S5099]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                75TH ANNIVERSARY OF ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS

  Mr. BROWN of Ohio. Mr. President, I rise today to honor the legacy of 
Dr. Robert Smith, cofounder of Alcoholics Anonymous, which is 
celebrating this year its 75th anniversary.
  Dr. Smith, commonly referred to as Dr. Bob, was a prominent surgeon 
in my State in Akron, OH, when his friend, Henrietta Seiberling, an 
heir to the Goodyear fortune, introduced him to New Yorker Bill Wilson 
in 1935.
  Dr. Bob and Bill Wilson's discussion that year on Mother's Day in 
Gate Lodge on the grounds of the Seiberling's Stan Hywet estate laid 
out the framework for the modern-day Alcoholics Anonymous.
  Having shared the common disease of alcoholism, Dr. Bob and Bill 
Wilson recognized the need to offer dignified healing of sobriety for 
all people who struggle with the disease of alcoholism.
  What started as an informal conversation in Gate Lodge on the Stan 
Hywet estate led to small group meetings and conversations at the home 
of Dr. Bob and his wife Anne on Ardmore Avenue.
  Dr. Bob and Anne subsequently opened their home to those seeking 
sobriety, and the understanding of the 12 steps that Dr. Bob and Bill 
Wilson were refining.
  As one of Akron's premier physicians at Summa Health's Akron City 
Hospital, Dr. Bob also understood that prevailing medical treatment was 
inadequate in treating a disease that did not discriminate among 
gender, age, culture, wealth, or social standing.
  This was an era when alcoholism was not understood as a disease, so 
those seeking treatment were not admitted to hospitals.
  Dr. Bob and Bill understood that the alcoholic needed the help of the 
``Angel of Alcoholics Anonymous,'' Sister Mary Ignatia and St. Thomas 
Hospital.
  Dr. Bob took to bringing alcoholics from the back entrance of the 
hospital up to empty rooms in Sister Ignatia's unit.
  Sister Ignatia would ask Dr. Bob: Are they sick?
  Dr. Bob would respond: Very sick.
  Sister Ignatia replied: Then they shall come to the front door--a 
very different treatment of alcoholism than ever before.
  Sister Ignatia and St. Thomas Hospital then filled the void of the 
lack of formal treatment to help those battling alcoholism. They helped 
fill the gap in the lack of public and medical understanding of the 
disease.
  Therein lies the root of the modern Alcoholics Anonymous--in Akron, 
OH, on Olive Street--where St. Thomas Hospital remains an institution 
committed to offering health services to those afflicted with 
alcoholism.
  Since those early days 75 years ago in the 1930s, Dr. Bob and Sister 
Ignatia helped foment the public consciousness that alcoholism is, in 
fact, a disease; that it is never fully cured but only managed with 
self-determination and with family and community support.
  Dr. Bob and Sister Ignatia imbued a sense of urgency in the movement 
where literally the common refrain for those who live the disease is to 
live one day at a time.
  It is that sense of urgency that often found Sister Ignatia saying, 
``Time is running out and I must work while I can.''
  Earlier this week, the people of Akron gathered at St. Thomas 
Hospital to rename Olive Street ``Dr. Bob's Way'' to recognize his 
contribution to our Nation's history. And earlier this month, thousands 
of supporters of AA--alcoholics and family members throughout the 
Nation--traveled to Akron for Founders Day which celebrates the legacy 
of Dr. Bob and Sister Ignatia.
  Many visitors traveled to Stan Hywet Hall where they walked along the 
pristine landscape, walking past the Gate Lodge where AA meetings 
continue to this day.
  From that single conversation at Gate Lodge to Dr. Bob and Anne's 
home on Ardmore Avenue to St. Thomas Hospital on Olive Avenue, AA has 
turned into one of the most unified and diverse organizations in the 
world.
  Since its earliest days, AA opened its doors and services to all 
those who seek it, regardless of gender, age, socio-economic status, or 
sexual orientation.
  Fully self-funded, prominent statesmen and judges have sat alongside 
paupers and peasants--each seeking a shared experience and the support 
of each other.
  Today, 117,000 groups totaling more than 2 million members live in 
more than 150 countries and are working with them and being helped by 
AA.
  It all started in Akron. Ohio has often been an epicenter of our 
Nation's history--home of more Presidents, and poets to inventors and 
pioneers; first in light, first in flight--Thomas Edison, the Wright 
brothers, and so much else.
  We are also part of our Nation and our world's basic humanity. 
Through the Great Depression to the wars in the Pacific, Vietnam, 
Korea, Iraq, and Afghanistan, AA has been a source of strength for 
servicemembers and veterans.
  Across borders and devoid of religious affiliation, AA has been a 
source of faith for one's self. Whether a factory worker or physician, 
parents and educators, all are alike. Regardless of one's station in 
life, AA has been a source of resiliency, demonstrating the capacity 
for all of us to see the better stronger angels within ourselves and 
within others.
  To St. Thomas Hospital, now part of Summa Health, and the city of 
Akron, congratulations for carrying on Dr. Bob and Sister Ignatia's 
legacy for 75 years. More important, congratulations to the members and 
supporters of AA. Thank you for your service to our families, our 
communities, our Nation and for a greater humanity for all of us.

                          ____________________