The Poplar Bluff Serenity Group of Alcoholics Anonymous is celebrating the 75th year of the recovery organization’s continuous presence in Poplar Bluff.
Alcoholics Anonymous was founded in June 1935 in Akron, Ohio, when Bill Wilson, a New York stockbroker, and Dr. Robert (Bob) Smith, an Akron physician, began the first group to help alcoholics work through a program of recovery now known as the 12 Steps.
AA came to Poplar Bluff just 10 years later when a man named Joe H. got sober on Dec. 1, 1945. Soon after, three other members joined him in sobriety, and the first Poplar Bluff group was born. The group took the name Poplar Bluff Serenity Group and first registered with AA World Services in New York in 1954.
Meetings in the early days were held in several places — a lumber pile, a plumbing business, in private homes — until it found a permanent location at Holy Cross Episcopal Church.
The Serenity Group moved to another location downtown on Moran Street in 1986, then moved a few blocks away to the former City Light and Water building on the corner of Main and Cedar streets in 1990.
“In those days, the group was small, and we were a close-knit bunch,” remembers one member who has been sober for more than 30 years, thanks to AA.
The group moved three more times, ending up at its current location at 506 E. Pine St. in 2013. Meetings are held on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday nights at 7 p.m., Thursdays at noon, and Sundays at 11 a.m.
The 7 p.m. meetings are closed, which means they are only for people who have a desire to stop drinking. The meetings on Thursday and Sunday are open, which means anyone with an interest in AA or recovery from alcoholism is welcome to attend.
Members, who maintain their personal anonymity in the press, describe AA as a “spiritual program of action.” New members are encouraged to read the “Big Book,” the nickname for the eponymous book “Alcoholics Anonymous,” which describes the nature of the disease of alcoholism and suggests the 12 Steps as a program of recovery.
The 12 steps involve admission of alcoholism, reliance on a higher power, confession, restitution, prayer and meditation, and reaching out to other alcoholics to carry the message of hope and recovery.
“The Poplar Bluff Serenity Group strives to stay true to its single purpose of offering a solution to the disease of alcoholism,” according to John H., a member of the group who has been sober since June of 1984.
“We share our experience, strength and hope” in meetings, according to another member. Meetings often involve recounting past trials with alcoholism along with testimonies of how the steps and the fellowship of AA helped the individual recover.
“The program of Alcoholics Anonymous teaches us to place our dependence on a Power greater than ourselves that can relieve us of our alcoholism one day at a time,” John H. says. “The Serenity Group had helped many of us to maintain sobriety.”
In recognition of this year’s 75th Anniversary, the Serenity Group will hold a celebration at the 506 E. Pine St. meeting hall on Saturday, Sept. 12. Events include a fish fry/potluck lunch at noon, with the open meeting (all are welcome) beginning at 1:30 p.m., followed by an AA speaker at 2 p.m.
Anyone who is interested in more information about Alcoholic Anonymous, the Al-Anon family support group, or general information about alcoholism is invited to contact the Serenity Group at 573-714-2768. The group’s website is pbserenitygroup.org.
As another member said, “I’m willing to go to any length to stay sober.” The Poplar Bluff Serenity Group’s primary purpose is to help anyone who wants to recover from alcoholism work the steps and find the support to live happy, joyous, and free from alcohol.
John H. concurs, saying, “It is indeed a privilege to be part of a group that has been carrying that message in Poplar Bluff for 75 years.”