Portland Intergroup History

Growth of Alcoholics Anonymous in Portland

A Brief History of Portland Area Intergroup — 1950-2021

Portland, Oregon’s first AA meeting, “10th Street Group #1,” started in 1943. It grew to eight groups, leading to the establishment of “The 10th Street Club.”

Soon after, a small group developed a plan for a Central Office, which evolved into the Intergroup known as Portland Area Intergroup. The office began in the 10th Street Club in 1947. After two years, a committee studied the needs and functions of an AA central office. By the end of 1949, resolutions were drawn, making the office official.

Another Alano Club opened in NW Portland at 19th and Flanders. The central office moved to a separate room with an entrance and phone line. This arrangement kept identities separate. However, it was prudent to secure a separate office space. In November 1950, the central office moved to 519 S.W. 3rd Ave in downtown Portland, the infamous Dekum building. We remained there for 40 years. The office manager was “Doc” D., who served until 1971.

Our office has had several names over the years. The first and least known was “Metropolitan Central Committee”. It evolved to “Central Advisory Committee”, then to “Central Committee”.

As AA grew and the Portland area expanded, more meetings sprang up in rural Portland and outlying areas. In 1962, the name “Portland Area Intergroup” was adopted and continues to serve us well. Member groups sponsored monthly intergroup meetings for years, requesting a few months in advance to ensure everyone could attend.

Resources on National A.A. History

A.A. General Service Archives

The GSO Archives, a historical collection of the Fellowship’s records based on Bill W.’s idea, offers an environment for exploring A.A.’s history and serves members and the public.

Akron A.A. Archives

The Akron A.A. Archives preserves Akron A.A.’s history by collecting, maintaining, cataloging, teaching, and displaying historic materials. Founded in the mid-1990s, it was based on a request from Nell Wing, Bill W.’s non-alcoholic secretary and A.A.’s first archivist.

The Akron A.A. Archives website contains photos of historic sites around the city and recordings of Akron oldtimers sharing their stories.

Of course it was fairly simple to keep everyone informed for the first score of years. June of 1968 had 12 groups represented. January of 1980 had 17 groups. To date (2019) we have records of over 80 groups on a regular basis and nearly 100 people in attendance. Portland Area Intergroup actively serves over 900 weekly AA meetings with approximately 15,000 members.

In 1959 the “Eastside” group announced their intention to open another office and telephone service to improve 12 step work. There was a little discussion about this at that meeting, but it was never mentioned again. The Eastside group did start attending and supporting the efforts of the intergroup the very next meeting however. The focus was on 12 step work and helping the still suffering alcoholic!

Speaker meetings were now on the radar and the Intergroup sponsored a quarterly speaker meeting which became tradition by the 1960’s. Marty M. was one of the early speakers of the time. Marty was best known as the first woman in AA to stay sober for any length of time and who worked tirelessly to educate the medical profession on alcoholism and the tools AA had to offer as a treatment.

F.W. “Doug” D. was the second person to serve as manager of the office and did so for the next 12 years. AA continued to grow, and the office kept up with the growing pains. The office moved from a 144-sq-ft room that served 8 groups, to a 1200-sq-ft office that served over 200 groups. This period was from 1950 to 1983.

After “Doug” retired, we found Chet C.. Chet managed the office for the next four years. (1983-1987) Chet was a well-known AA member in Portland and helped start many meetings in the Portland Area. Chet was also very active in Oregon Area and maintained the Oregon Area Archive collection for a number of years.

When Chet retired, Donald B. was asked to manage the office and usher in the computer era. Don also brought a level of professionalism to Central Office that served as an excellent example of how to be organized in a disorganized organization. Don’s work made it easy for the next manager to step in. Don retired in 1993. Garry B. was hired to serve as office manager after Donald B. retired.

The growth of AA has been consistent with the growth of the population in the greater Portland area. Our Intergroup currently publishes a local meeting schedule that lists over 900 meetings a week in Portland and outlying areas. We supply AA literature to the majority of the meetings and groups. Portland Area Intergroup has had a successful “Intergroup Committee” meeting monthly since its inception in 1947. We continue to strive to meet the needs of the AA community and act as a contact point for anyone inquiring about the program of Alcoholics Anonymous.

Central Offices across the country have had a weekend seminar once a year since 1985. At this seminar, we discuss and share our experience strength and hope with each other as to how to better serve the still suffering alcoholic. We frequently communicate via e-mail with each other to offer advice and encouragement. We all seem to share common ailments when it comes to running Central Offices. One thing is certain, our fellowship continues to grow and daily people reach out to AA for the first time.