Ebby - Sponsor of Bill W.

In talking about the beginnings of AA and its founders we often mention Bill Wilson and Dr. Robert Smith (aka Dr. Bob) but how many people know about the guy who carried the message to Bill, the man Bill always called his sponsor? I'm talking about Edwin (Ebby) Thacher.

Ebby stayed sober long enough to go to his old friend Bill and told him that he had found religion and was not drinking anymore. Bill, who at the time was not able to stay sober, did listen to him only because they were such friends and used to drink together. Now to make a long story short Bill got sober and stayed sober. Unfortunately Ebby had his dry periods and drunk periods for the rest of his life. It was a real roller coaster for him.

Ebby did have a long run at sobriety once out in Texas. He stayed sober for almost seven years, but went back to drinking when his girlfriend Chloe passed away in 1961. Ebby got drunk the next day and apparetly never was the same, he started the roller coaster ride again. Those close to him said that he apparently still believed that his sobriety was conditional on having the right woman.

Ebby moved back to New York and lived at several places for the next two years, one of which was at his brother Ken's home in Delmar. He had emphysema and was in poor health, his weight having dropped down to 122 pounds.

Ebby eventually ended up at the farm of Margaret and Micky McPike just outside Ballston Spa, New York, in May 1964. It was under their loving care that he finished the final two years of his life.

While at McPike's farm, he did not drink and AA visitors were frequent. At 1 am on March 21, 1966 Ebby passed away. The man who really started the AA ball rolling was finally able to get off the roller coaster of alcoholism. It was good that the last 22 months of his life were sober months.

Ebby Thacher was loved by AA members of his time and I think he deserves to be remembered. If you want to know more about Ebby I recommend you read his biography. It is called Ebby: The Man Who Sponsored Bill W. It is written by Mel B.

Early AA

From time to time I hear people in AA talk about things from AA past. For example, I heard a fellow say recently that Bill Wilson took many years to work the 12 steps. Where he got this crazy idea is beyond me but it gave him something to talk about.

In the early days of AA before the 12 steps were formalized they went through what we could call a quick but thorough housecleaning, a personal inventory after they admitted that they were licked and needed God's help to stay sober.  Then they made a list of those they had harmed and started making amends. Then they tried to live lives of service to others and helping other alcoholics.

Nowadays most sponsors will tell their sponsees to take their time on the steps. "There is no hurry" they say " take time to let your head clear." Since when does it take months or years for someone's head to clear from drinking? This whole delay process is very dangerous. I do not recommend it.

In the early AA days they had a 75% success rate; today we are lucky if 8% stay sober, and most of those stay scared to death of drinking again. They do not recover, they just hang on by a thread and hope for the best. If we want to get back to the success rate of the old days then we need to do what they did, they took the steps and then lived by the principles in the steps. AA is supposed to be a way of life - not a meeting to go to. I wish more people could get that.