One Drunk to Another I Just Work Here
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Illustration · The front porch of a two-story clapboard house like 855 Ardmore Avenue, at dusk. Not drawn from a photograph of the house.

I Just Work Here

Meet Dr. Bob

A Vermont judge’s son, a gifted surgeon, a secret drinker, and the second man sober in AA.

“He never spoke as a ‘founder.’ He always said, ‘I just work here.’”

Henrietta Seiberling, his friend in the Oxford Group · Dr. Bob and the Good Oldtimers, 1980

Dr. Bob S. was born in St. Johnsbury, Vermont, in 1879, the son of a judge. He became a surgeon in Akron, Ohio, and for seventeen years a secret, daily drinker who stayed dry until four in the afternoon.

In May 1935 a stranger from New York, Bill W., talked with him for six hours. Within weeks Dr. Bob had his last drink, and AA dates its founding from that day, June 10, 1935.

He stayed sober for the rest of his life. With Sister Ignatia at St. Thomas Hospital he cared for thousands of alcoholics, and the Big Book says he gave them all his medical services “without thought of charge.”

This is his story in seven parts, from a Vermont barn to a plain stone in Akron. It’s built from Dr. Bob and the Good Oldtimers and three other AA histories; where they disagree, these pages say so.

Start with 1 · Summa cum laude

His life at a glance

  1. 1879Born August 8 in St. Johnsbury, Vermont, the only son of a probate judge.
  2. 1898Graduates from St. Johnsbury Academy, where he has met Anne Ripley at a dance.
  3. 1902Graduates from Dartmouth College.
  4. 1910Earns his medical degree at Rush Medical College in Chicago, at 31.
  5. 1912Opens an office in Akron, Ohio, after two years as an intern at City Hospital.
  6. 1915Marries Anne Ripley on January 25. They move into 855 Ardmore Avenue.
  7. 1918Their son is born. With Prohibition coming, he starts drinking again.
  8. 1929Begins to specialize as a rectal surgeon.
  9. 1933He and Anne start going to the Oxford Group.
  10. 1935Meets Bill W. on May 12. Has his last drink in June.
  11. 1939His story appears in the Big Book. In August, Sister Ignatia admits his first alcoholic patient at St. Thomas Hospital.
  12. 1949Anne dies on June 1.
  13. 1950Gives his last talk, in Cleveland, on July 30. Dies November 16, at 71.

Seven parts and Legacy

Walk through his story

Each part has a short story, a one-minute audio stop, and a closer look for anyone who wants to go deeper. Read them in order, or start anywhere.

    New to the story? The Kitchen Table tells how AA began, from one drunk talking to another to millions around the world.

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