E i gh t y – Thr e e
The
Volume 2,No.1
April2006
Area 83 Archives Newsletter
AREA 83 ARCHIVES
April 2006 Ask the Archives Advisor
With many of us in Area 83 as budding
amateur archivists you might wonder
where can we go, aside from our Archives
Inside this issue: Workbook, for comprehensive information
on how to do our jobs well. One such place
Greater Toronto Area 2 is the Archives Association of Ontario
(GTA ) Archives (AAO). Members of AAO have a wealth of
services available to them one of which
District Archives 2
was recently utilized in Zone 1, the GTA..
Archives in the GTA have availed them-
Peterborough Ar- 3 selves of these services quite passively
chives over the last several years in terms of
Oral Histories: What 4 making use of on-line documents, links to
it was like ... other sites and a list serve. Recently, they
invited the Archives Advisor of the AAO to
Events 4 come and give an assessment of the exten-
sive collection housed at 234 Eglinton Ave.
E.. “The Archives Advisor Program pro-
vides complimentary direct advice to ar-
chives anywhere in Ontario.
The program is administered by the AAO
and funded by the Archives of Ontario,
Special points of through the Management Board Secre-
interest:
The many colours of District 22
Group banners
Ottawa’s Annual
Theatre Production
Ask the Archives Advisor
tariat and the Canadian Council of Ar-
chives (CCA).”
The following services
are provided: on-site
visits to archives or
proposed archives to
assist with profes-
sional and technical
issues; speaker(s) for
groups and institu-
tions interested in pro-
moting or developing archives; specialized
advice on automation, technology, elec-
tronic access issues, legislation, archival
arrangement and description, policy devel-
opment, preservation planning, grant pro-
grams, strategic planning and facilities
assessments.
Not many of us require such sophisticated
advice at the present time, but on conser-
vation and preservation most of us have a
lot of questions.
On April 8 in Peterborough you will
Page 2 The Eighty – Three

A new look for the Zone 1 Archives Display

The 2005 International Conference in Toronto was the oc-
casion for a facelift at the GTA Intergroup offices and the
Zone 1 (Districts 2-22) Archives Committee was an unex-
pected recipient of the changes made The old display fea-
tured rails upon which pictures of long timers, groups,
and other miscellaneous pieces. Notable amongst some of
the material not featured in the display was material
from the 1965 International Conference held in Toronto.
Previous delegates and members of the Ontario General
Service Committee carefully preserved photos, name
badges, ribbons, agendas, and other interesting memora-
bilia that was in boxes in the repository. With the fresh
look of the cur- Before: GTA Archives display After
“50 Years of AA in Ontario” and the rent facilities at
1965 International collection came ‘234’ these were meeting, Districts with little or no experience in archives
alive on the walls, in the cabinets and able to be show- are beginning to set the pace for increased involvement of
in the hearts of everyone who came to cased for the the groups and individual members.
visit the Archives. 2005 Interna- The Archives Advisor for the Archives Association of On-
tional. tario made a visit the Archives in February and was im-
Many people contributed time and effort to ensure that pressed with the G.S.O. Workbook and its many helpful
all was well prepared to meet the hundreds of AAs, Al- guidelines. There are quite a few things that require im-
Anons and Al-Alateens that made their way to these of- mediate attention in terms of conservation and preserva-
fices. tion but we are well on our way. Purchases of aid free
The “50 Years of AA in Ontario” and the 1965 Interna- boxes, paper and Mylar will make improvements that will
tional collection actually did come alive on the walls, in require some investment. To that end the committee con-
the cabinets and in the hearts of everyone who comes to tinues to generate revenue with the sale of the 50 Years of
visit the Archives. AA in Ontario and the annual Archives Breakfast to held
on November 5, 2006 at the Oasis Convention Centre,
On another note, the Districts have been active in getting Lakeshore West, Toronto. Last year’s breakfast was a
oral histories, collecting group histories, photographing great success with the visual depiction of the 50 Years of
table banners and meeting locations. The enthusiasm AA in Ontario conducted by Máire O’B and the meeting
over the past of Alcoholics Anonymous is encouraging and chaired by Sean McC with over 43 years of sobriety.
its catching on. With only a camera and a need to go to a

Ottawa
Ottawa Archives as been the host to 2 excellent one man theatri-
cal productions in the lat two years that have profiled moments
in the life of our co-founders Dr. Bob and Bill W. On April 19
at the Bronson Centre, they will host the third production by the
writer and actor Bill McN. of Lancaster, Pennsylvania. This
year’s production takes a different perspective as it presents Lois
W., in her and Bill’s home in Bedford Hills, affectionately
known by the fellowship as Stepping Stones, in the hours just
after the memorial service for Bill at the Cathedral of St. John
the Divine in New York City on February 14, 1971. Lois is
reminiscing with an imaginary friend. The memorial service was
distributed throughout North America and presumably wherever
A.A. was in the world so that the fellowship could all participate
at the same time. The show commences at 7:30 with a musical
introduction by the jazz band ‘Souper Jazz’ and is followed at
8:00 by the two act play entitled “Reflections.” The previous
two one man productions featured Bill McN. This year it will be
a one woman show with Lois being played by Jean F., the direc-
tor is Eve S. and the whole production is being produced by Dan
McD. The ticket sales are reported to be brisk at $10/each and
the committee expects to generate enough revenue over ex-
penses for the event to support the archives work for the next
year. For more information contact Dan McD. (613) 231-2147
Volume 2, No. 1
Peterborough, District 86
What’s happening in Peterborough……… Heritage is rich with
its mother group (Liftlock) celebrating its
58th group anniversary in April. A long
“You can feel the timer from that group recalls his first
excitement, meeting. “It was 1948, I was 18 years old
and not ready yet, I needed it, just wasn’t
energy and love in
ready. I was taken to a meeting at a farm
the stories of house that belonged to a member on the
district 86 long outskirts of town. A lot of AAs got sobri-
timers.” ety there, staying for periods of time and
helping out by working around the camp.
I remember everyone having white hair, I
had no car and couldn't leave… You can feel the excitement,
energy and love in the stories of District 86 long timers.
With group histories being a long standing part of Peterbor-
ough’s Archive committees a current project is now putting
them on an updated storage medium. Being blessed with a do-
nation of a lap top has enabled us to download the Akron data-
base template. We are currently transferring all our paper inven-
District 82, Victoria Haliburton
In Victoria-Haliburton District 82, Archives has been working hard
to get group histories on each group— when each started, by whom,
the original locations, and where they are located now. They have
been requesting the GSRs to try and find their group’s first meeting
agenda which would detail who was present and who took part,.
Since some groups have new table banners there has been encour-
agement to try and find the some of the original table covers. A
project t for this year is to try and get photos of all table banners and
meeting locations for the groups in the District
There has been donations of tapes some of which include Bill W.
and Bob S.. One very notable donation was an older copy of the Big
Book with Bill W’s signature.
The many colours ...
(cont’d from front page) Snapshots of group tablecloths and
banners like these from Scarborough District 22 bring a
certain amount of nostalgia for those who got sober in any
one of these meetings. Some of these meetings are closed
and the banners recall bygone days and members long
gone but hardly forgotten. If the table banners for a group
which is gone are not available try photographing the
group’s location.
Page 3
tory to disk. What a great outcome!
We have received a 1st edition copy of the Big Book which con-
cludes our updated set. With our new wall mounted display case
at Intergroup we are able to rotate monthly items for display. We
are sure fortunate to have an Intergroup to display items and are
equally enriched over our storage cabinet there.
All is well and even the things that are not exactly up to date we
have found a way around, for instance we are recording oral
history’s on audio cassette and we simply have them transferred
to CD for more modern storage.
We have been fortunate to have a committee member with 55
years of sobriety and currently his slides along with others are
being reviewed, labeled and the outcome will hopefully be a
disk. This is exciting! In a fellowship of rotation there leaves
little doubt about the adventures of rotating into the beautiful
history of any district.
Since the Ontario Regional Conference was always the great
event of the year it is no wonder that that have found .
Copies of ORC programs from 1962-1967 were given to the
committee by Jean A. wife of Ed A. past delegate in 1969-1970.
Also found has been a copy of the Ontario Directory 1976, and
some copies of older pamphlets , for example “A.A. in Hospi-
tals.”
The District will also hold its first annual archives break-
fast on May 28 at the Embers Restaurant. The committee
decided to hold such an event to gauge the interest of the
fellowship in another breakfast in the Toronto area and to
have a chance to let some long timers share their experi-
ence, strength and hope about what is was like when they
came into Alcoholics Anonymous. All in all this is a very
active and enthusiastic committee.
 AREA 83 ARCHIVES
April 2006
Upcoming Events:
Peterborough—”Ask the Archives Advisor”, Peterborough
Intergroup, 625 Cameron Street, April 8, 2006, 1:00-3:30.
Ottawa— ‘Reflections’, Bronson Theatre, Bronson Center, 211
Bronson Ave. Tickets $10.00. April 19, 2006.
Hamilton —8th Annual Hamilton & District Archives Breakfast,
Sunday April 23, 2006. Carmen’s Banquet Centre (Stone Church
Rd. E.) Speaker, Mel B. Toledo, Ohio (Sobriety date-April 15,
1950). For more information call (905) 522-8399.
Scarborough– First Annual East Toronto Archives Breakfast.
Sunday May 28 9:00-1:00. Embers Restaurant, 781 Warden Ave.
Tickets $25.00. For more information call Eddie G. (416)
536.7536
A note from the Editors: We are excited by the news and events that you have taken the time to pass along to us. The enthusiasm
about Archives is very encouraging, particularly as we move into the third and fourth generations of alcoholics in the fellowship.
We would love to publish more of your stories and pictures and will make very effort to make sure that the activities in your District
get profiled here in “The Eighty-Three.”
For more information do please feel free to contact Máire O’B. maire.obrien@sympatico.ca or (416) 783-4926 or Gordon H. at
gordonhowe@rogers.com or (416) 414-8374.
Oral Histories: What it Was Like, What Happened, ...
Ever look at the date on your group’s table banner and
wonder what it was like in that meeting when it started?
You are no longer alone and if you look around the room
you will find a few long timers who
will be more than willing to share
what it was like, what happened,
and what it is like now since they
came to Alcoholics Anonymous. A
few of the Districts have been quite
active in getting it on the record.
Keith F. of Kingston recounted to
Máire O’B. at the Fall 2005 Assem-
bly interesting stories about the
beginning of Corrections meetings
in the Area back in the 1960s when
members from all over Ontario
piled in their cars and headed off
towards Kingston to carry the mes-
sage inside the walls. On that
same weekend we were privileged
to hear the message of Lew C.
(Newmarket Group) share his story
of what it was like when he came
(cont’d from front page Ask the Archives Advisor) have an
opportunity to ask these and have them answered compre-
hensively by the Archives and Preservation Advisors of the
AAO.
Bring an item that you wish to specifically talk about.
Look in your archives and think about the questions you
really need answers for. Bring these, your enthusiasm, a
few interested friends and a treat to share over coffee and
to the Peterborough Intergroup at 625 Cameron Street. on
April 8 from 1:00-3:30. Let’s get our archives on order and
have some fun while we are it!!
into A.A. back in the 1960s. Sadly he passed away on Febru-
ary 12. A few others whose stories are on the record in the
past 6 months are Pat P. (formerly of the Sunnyside Group)
with over 50 years in Alcoholics
Anonymous. Peter W. (Oakville
Group) has recounted his many dis-
cussions, when he served the fellow-
ship from Delegate t Area 83, East-
ern Canada Regional Trustees and
then as Chairman of A.A. World Ser-
vices (A.A.W.S.) with Bill W. about
the writing of the Big Book, the Ser-
vice Manual and everything in-
between. These are just a few of the
notables; if you have recorded the
oral and/or group histories, let the
Archivist know so that these can be
noted in the database for future refer-
ence. If you haven’t recorded the oral
histories of your group’s long timers,
there is no time like the present.
Consult the Archives Workbook, and
“Just Do It!”