Henrietta Seiberling

7/30/2019 Henrietta Seiberling

1/11

/14/12 Henrietta Seiberling

1ww.silkworth.net/gsowatch/hen/index.htm

Henrietta Seiberling - without her would be no AA in this world

This is an 8 page (4 pages/2 sided) letter from Henrietta Seiberling to Clarence Snyder

written on Friday, July 31st and postmarked August 1, 1952 from Akron, Ohio. The back

flap of the envelope states - GATE LODGE NORTH PORTAGE PATH AKRON, OHIO

interesting to note it was called Gate Lodge rather than Gate House which is usually used

in AA literature. This is one of about 6 letters to Clarence from Henrietta that we have.Here is the transcription of that letter from Henrietta's handwriting. Also attached are

copies as scanned from the original letter.

Letter from

Henrietta Seiberling

(She introduced Bill W.

to

Anne and Dr. Bob Smith in1935)

Click on envelope to magnify

To Clarence H.

Snyder

"The Home

Brewmeister"

in the story section

of

the big book

Founder of the

very first group

that called itself

"AA"

Letter page 1 - Click to magnify

Friday, July 31st,

1952

Dear Clarence,

It was such a happy surprise to get

your

letter - I have wanted to answer it long

before

this but have been "burning daylight"

as the old saying goes.

My Dorothy & I drove here from New
http://www.silkworth.net/gsowatch/hen/hen.jpghttp://www.silkworth.net/gsowatch/hen/chs.jpghttp://www.silkworth.net/gsowatch/hen/09.jpghttp://www.silkworth.net/gsowatch/hen/hen.jpg


2/11



York July 4th & she had 3 weeks here

only

& I had been notified by the Seiberling

brothers

& sisters that they felt they should rent

my

house, as we are here so little, so John

& his

wife & baby came as soon as I could

get it

opened & ready, & Mary & her husband

came

from Chicago for a week; all to go

over & col-

lect their belongings, piling up for 29

years.So you can imagine that I've stayed

away

from pen & paper.

I drove back to New York Sunday with

Dorothy - car loaded with things &

Fred picked

me up & drove me back Tuesday. I see

John off next week & then, as usual,Henrietta

really will tear into things - & finish up

-

It was a terrific blow - the thought

of not having this sweet little place to

come to

& enjoy the beauties of nature, trees,

birds, sun-shine, & quiet & to be with

so many good friends. & at first, I

didn't know

how to take it - so I just surrendered it

& asked to

be shown what to say + what to do +
http://www.silkworth.net/gsowatch/hen/01.htm


3/11




put myself out

of the picture entirely & let God show

me - after

a few days, I think I was guided to

have the

right attitude & wrote my brother-in-

law a letter

to which he responded the next day,

with many

thanks & much appreciation. & since

we've been

back I feel a warmth of affection from

Fred's

brothers & sisters, that in the end,

means more than

even my haven of my own joy &tranquility.

& so God works things out for us

always &

I realize that we have to have things

like that

to make us turn to Him & rely

completely on Him.

"The branch that beareth not fruit, He

cuts off

but He purges the branch that beareth

fruit"

so it "will bear more fruit." I realized

that it was

just another challenge to meet, so that

I would

rely more completely on His direction,

& I knew

that relying on "His direction, I would

"never

be misled" I may work something out,

renting

the house furnished or move the

furniture here

to the Big House & I can stay there

when I


4/11



want to I know.

I was so interested to think of your

being

in Georgia & seeing Roland & Dorothy -

They

are such dear wonderful


real people & I think we can be so

grateful to

our Maker for giv ing us a fel-

lowship with so many all over. all

with

the same purpose in life & trying to

live the

same quality of life.

Last night, Bill Van Horn & Mickey

came

over and got me & we picked up Bill

Dotson, who

now lives near King School, &we went

out to Stow

where I led the little group in a

meeting - Itwas just like old times at T. Henry's -

Every

one felt they could get up and talk &

you could

feel that we were really gathered

together in

His Name & we had the real fellowship

of the

"Holy Spirit" that was left in the world,

so

we would never "be comfortless" - Bill

Dotson

said he had been to Albany, Georgia to

speak.

I told him that I had your letter & they

were


5/11



so glad to get news of you & spoke of

you in the

meeting.

I feel very sure that God has His

Guiding

Hand on our works, It looked for a

while as

if Bill Wilson would like to crowd God

out

but we know that it is up to us to seek

more &

more of God's power to help other

people to know

this way of Life & our fellowship. You

certainly

are doing your part & thank


God, all those who have glimpsed the

real vision

are doing theirs. The joy of it is, to

me, that those

who have only been offered "the

stone," are so

eager & grab at the "bread," that weknow we

have to offer - as you say, it is

appalling how

little they have been offered by the

would be

"elder statesman" - but the 12 steps &

the

fact that, as Stanley Jones say,

wherever man

opens his mind to God, He reveals

himself -

they have helped the groping AA's -

who have

been denied so much of the real

"bread" -

& given the "stone" of Bill Wilson's


6/11



designs.

But, Clarence, I have made one big

whale of

a surrender ofBill & his schemes -

& all thought of him & the possibilities

of what

harm he could do just left me in the

most

amazing way. I don't have to try to

"not think

of him" again, I just don't - He is

completely

consigned to God by me & I know He

can

handle him - We will be closely knit -

even with his taking the money &

trying to take the book. I am sure he

will need our pity

& compassion because he has put

himself

apart from the real fellowship -


more and more I see that the 16th

Chapter of Luke that I

read in answer to my asking to

understand Bill & what he was doing,

illuminated

the situation - He has put himself with
http://www.silkworth.net/gsowatch/hen/luke16.htmhttp://www.silkworth.net/gsowatch/hen/04.htm


7/11



the

"children of darkness" - he has his

henchmen &

ingratiates himself with those in the

dark -

Let us keep ourselves "children of the

Light"

& keep serving God, instead of

"Mammon."

Bill has made his choice - Read the

chapter over.

I heard talk in Missouri 2 years ago

about

his connection with Sheen* but I don't

imagine

it is so. He imagines himself all kinds

of things.

His hand "writes" dictation from a

Catholic

priest, whose name I forget, from the

1600 period who was in Barcelona

Spain - again, he told Horace Crystal**,he was completing the work that

Christ didn't finish, & according to

Horace he said he was a reincarnation

of Christ.

Perhaps he got mixed in whose

reincarnation

he was. It looks more like the works of

the

devil but I could be wrong. I don'tknow what

is going on in the poor deluded fellow's

mind.

He must be wistful. He asked Bill

Dotson if he

knew where I was & Bill said "on Park

Ave" &


8/11


he said "Have you seen her" ?

* Bill did begin taking instruction with Bishop

Sheen to

convert to becoming Roman Catholic but

didn't complete the instruction.

** Horace was a leading member of

The Alcoholic Foundation

(AA General Service Board Inc. ) and

Vice-President of Works

Publishing, Inc., New York. (now AA

World Services, Inc.)


I learned from a Texas friend that a

Chaplain

in the prisons said the only way they

really reached

prisoners was thru Alcoholics

Anonymous, even forthe non alcoholic - so besides such

things as

that, Bill & his schemes pale into

insignificance

for us - I am sure.

We can stand by & see him claim

the "glory"

if we can keep the "power" to helptransform

lives - Thank God, you & so many

others are

still doing that.

I imagine Selma* will like the South.

They are dear people & I hope you like

the new

situation. (*Clarence's 2nd wife)

I realize that what may seem the

"closed door" of my idyllic little place

here,

may be the opening of many more

doors &

vistas, so maybe it is a release for me

to go
http://www.silkworth.net/gsowatch/hen/06.htmhttp://www.silkworth.net/gsowatch/aaws/june40.htm


9/11

/14/12


around & see more people - anyway

we, all

know & I felt confidant of that, for

which I am

grateful that we are equal to anything

in

Him who strengthens us.

Bill Van Horn had his "purging" the

other

day. The cute little boy's "mother" had

been taking a

course at Kleet normal & little


Billy was thru his school &Bill planned

to go on

a fishing trip with him & he came

home one

night & found she had taken off. He

learned

she went to California. The little boy

was the

apple of Bill's eye, but he will "bear

more fruit"

for this last challenge to meet & he

seems to

know that "bearing fruit" is what we

are here for.

He is going to take me up to Cleveland

to theirLuncheon group some time. Maybe in

the course

of time, I'll meet Ed Howe. But it's like

the 'father

who seeth in secret,' that matters. Just

so we

keep His Guidance, which is so very

real, I know


10/11

nothing else really matters, as you

know too.

Do let me know what's going on with

you, Clarence - I'll probably be here

until the

middle of September, at least.

It is unnecessary to say "keep up your

good works." You do that anyway, but I

am

very grateful for such true people as

you &

Selma & Bill Van Horn & Roland & all.

We'll

have our own "Grapevine,"

"underground" but

from "overhead" - God has been good

to us to

give us a glimpse of such a little

"colony of

Heaven"


as Paul calls it - Annabel & Wally go to

the King

School still - Ernie Galbraith was there

& so

many of the "faithful." John Cluffs led;


11/11


Marie

Bray appeared (remember them?) Bob

Graham

died & so did poor Ernie Springston, if

you

remember him. I saw Henry Schwering

in

N.Y. - Bill Dotson* brought him over.

Bill W.

wouldn't let him in the "convention."

Goodby, Clarence. Your good work

speaks always of you to so many. It is

a

great joy to think of, isn't it.

As ever Faithfully

Henrietta

* Bill Dotson was a lawyer in Akron,

Ohio. His story

is in the book "Alcoholics Anonymous".

Look for

"AA Number Three".
http://www.silkworth.net/gsowatch/1955/2ed/aanum3.txthttp://www.silkworth.net/gsowatch/hen/bill_d.jpghttp://www.silkworth.net/gsowatch/hen/08.htm

Documents

Henrietta Seiberling