A.A.'s Country-wide News Circuit

Since June the Omaha, Nebr., Group has had a "skid row" Group going right across the street from Omaha's famous Hobo Park. For another dramatic touch they had an artist make a seven-foot, well dressed, domino-masked man to peddle a booklet on A.A. in the lobby of theatres showing "March of Time Problem Drinkers" and late showings of "Lost Weekend." About 1,500 pamphlets were put into circulation and phone calls at the club kept members hopping. Then, The A.A. Grapevine correspondent goes on, "outstate members. . .are organizing their own local groups and this work needs a hand. Even if all of us didn't want to do 12th Step work, we'd be in it up to the eyebrows." The Group celebrated its fourth annual Fall Festival with a banquet at the Elks club with more than 100 hearing talks by Judge John Tinley and a member of the Foundation from New York. Present were members from North Platte, Grand Island, Blair, Auburn and Fremont, Nebr., and Council Bluffs, Ia. For more than two years two members met regularly in North Platte and remote control members have been driving the 600-mile round trip to attend Omaha meetings. Now they have organized the Western Nebraska Group with 10 members from North Platte, Kearney and surrounding towns. At Grand Island a six-man Group was organized by an Omaha member. Recently 25 Omaha A.A.s drove to Lincoln to meet with a new group. Just to keep things bubbling more than champagne at the Alano club, Omaha, an experiment is being made with a set of recordings, 18 sides, which explain basic principles to prospects seeking information during the day when no member is present. The data recorded is being mimeographed in pamphlet form, pocket size, for 12th Step purposes.