First Southern California Conference of Alcoholics Anonymous — Long Beach, California — November 22–23, 1952
Offered here is an original program from the First Southern California Conference of Alcoholics Anonymous, held in Long Beach, California, on November 22–23, 1952.
Contemporary A.A. reporting confirms that plans were completed for the “first Southern California Conference” at Long Beach for November 22 and 23, with meetings held at the Long Beach Auditorium. The program was designed to address several areas of the rapidly expanding Fellowship, including A.A. in industry, clubhouses, rehabilitation, family groups, and women in A.A.
The conference came during an important period in the development of Alcoholics Anonymous in Southern California. By 1952, A.A. had grown substantially throughout the region, while the emerging Family Group movement was also taking shape nationally. That same year, groups that had operated under a variety of names formally adopted the name Al-Anon Family Groups.
Long Beach itself had already become an important center of early A.A. activity. The Harbor Area Central Office traces its roots to the late 1940s and preserves substantial documentation of the early Fellowship in the region.
This program is an uncommon surviving piece of early Southern California A.A. conference history, documenting one of the first large-scale regional gatherings in the area only seventeen years after the founding of Alcoholics Anonymous.
Book Details
Event: First Southern California Conference of Alcoholics Anonymous
Location: Long Beach, California
Dates: November 22–23, 1952
Format: Original conference program
Subject: Alcoholics Anonymous / Southern California A.A. History / Early A.A. Conferences
Year: 1952
Condition: Vintage original with age and handling consistent with an event program of this period. Please review photographs carefully for the exact condition of this copy.
Historical Significance
Regional conference programs from the early 1950s are increasingly difficult to locate. Unlike later mass-produced convention material, these pieces document A.A. while its regional service structure, public outreach, family groups, and conference culture were still developing.
This particular program is especially desirable for collectors of California A.A. history, early conference material, regional ephemera, and the development of Alcoholics Anonymous during the 1950s.
