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+ Last updated:
June 02, 2007
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Alcoholics Anonymous History
TRIBUTE TO A.A.
STALWART DALE MORFITT OF AMERY, WISCONSIN
By Dick B.
TRIBUTE TO
A.A. STALWART DALE MORFITT OF AMERY, WISCONSIN
January, 2007
Dale Morfitt has left us. Some would say he’s gone
home. Some would say he’s now leading the great meeting in the sky. Some
would say he is in heaven. I prefer to say what the Word of God—which
Dale treasured—says: He is now asleep in Jesus and awaiting the return
of his Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Whatever you may say, Dale was a
fervent and faithful servant of the Lord and tuned to his duties of
love, service, and witnessing as a son of our Heavenly Father. And he
had a wonderful part in my own A.A. fellowship life.
Others can and possibly may tell you that he was a strong family man and
deeply loved his wife Carol and their children and grandchildren. They
may tell you that he was soft-spoken and gentle in his demeanor. They
may tell you he was one of the fortunate people to have been sponsored
by A.A.’s venerable old-timer Clarence H. Snyder. They may tell you he
was devoted to the love and service which bespeak the best of Alcoholics
Anonymous—he sponsored many people whom I know. They may tell you that
he led many an alcoholic and addict to Christ. They may tell you that he
was an avid student of the history of early Alcoholics Anonymous, its
Christian Fellowship, its Biblical sources, and its many component
roots. They may tell you that he was a top student of A.A.’s basic text
Alcoholics Anonymous and of its Twelve Steps of recovery. They may tell
you that, for many years, he faithfully continued as Chief Shepherd of
the Wisconsin spiritual retreat founded by Clarence Snyder for AAs and
their families—and this leadership role at substantial personal
financial and physical sacrifice for Dale. And they may put the cherry
on the top of the A.A. part by telling you that Dale worked tirelessly
with several others over more than a year to put on paper, to get
correct, and to memorialize the exact way that Clarence Snyder conducted
spiritual retreats for AAs and their families and the exact way Clarence
helped to state the way in which Clarence took hundreds and hundreds of
AAs through the Twelve Steps of recovery.
Please allow me to tell you a few items which will illustrate how I met
him, how often I communicated with him and his family, how often we have
recently participated together in Snyder retreats in Wisconsin, Florida,
Los Angeles, and elsewhere, and how much I came to appreciate the
contribution this gentle man was making to the ability of desiring
alcoholics, addicts, and their families to receive deliverance the “old
school” A.A. way. Dale knew the real A.A. story. He knew what the Bible,
prayer, quiet time, and surrender meant in early A.A. Dale understood
well what Dr. Bob and Clarence meant when they said that the Book of
James, the Sermon on the Mount, and 1 Corinthians 13 were “absolutely
essential” to the early A.A. cures.
My phone rang one day in Hawaii, and Dale said his group was on a
limited budget, but asked if I could fly to Wisconsin and speak at a
retreat at the lake camp near the Morfitt home. He said his group wanted
to learn about early A.A.’s roots and the historical facts I had found
and expressed in my history publications. I didn’t realize the full
import of this call. For I was to learn first hand that there were
dedicated born-again Christians in A.A. who were striving to carry the
original A.A. message to others today. Dale picked me up at the airport,
drove me down a winding road, told me how many times he had tried to
straighten out the curves in the road while drunk, and told me how many
times his wife had dragged their children out of their beds and rushed
to rescue him from the ditches along the way. Then he told me how got
sober and then was divinely was healed down in Florida by the power of
God. He told me of his relationship with Clarence Snyder, his studies of
the Bible, his Twelfth Step work in A.A., and the many things he had
learned from Clarence about A.A. And I was soon to learn that I could
meet Clarence’s wife, Grace Snyder through Dale’s good auspices. On that
first trip, Dale arranged for me to speak about A.A.’s history and roots
on local radio stations, in newspaper interviews, and at other meetings.
I saw that his position on dissemination of accurate A.A. history was a
dedicated one. And he shared with me his many manuscripts and tapes of
such early pioneers as Ed Andy of Lorain, Ohio—a virtually unspoken
curator of the “first A.A. history museum.” Each time I spoke at the
Wisconsin retreat, I was graciously hosted by Dale and his wife in their
home, along with other participants who spoke from time to time.
Now, for some closing accolades. It was Dale who arranged for me to
meet, share the podium with, and write the book about Grace Snyder, That
Amazing Grace. I met Grace at his home. We became fast friends, and I
realized what an extraordinary tribe these Snyder people were. For I was
soon to meet the leaders of other Snyder retreats and their wives—Al and
his wife, Paul of England, Steve F. and his wife, Jack R, and his wife,
and three other couples in Florida, Los Angeles, and San Diego. Dale
even put me in touch with the “fourth horseman” who was living in Canada
and had been sponsored by Clarence and helped pull Clarence’s “My Higher
Power The Lightbulb” and “Going Through The Steps” out into publication
for all to see. And it was Dale who suggested that Steve F. of Florida
might make it possible financially for me to travel to Grace’s home,
interview her, and publish the Amazing Grace book.
Many are the truths I learned from Dale, Carol, and their friends about
what the Good Book, the Big Book, the Twelve Steps, the Lord Jesus
Christ, and reliance on our Creator could do and had done for early AAs
in Akron and Cleveland. And were still doing for so many who learned and
believed even in A.A. and other Twelve Step Fellowships.
A couple of years ago, one of the four horsemen, Steve F., phoned to ask
if I would compile and edit a guidebook to the retreats, to the Steps,
and to retreat leaders that he and Dale and Jack R. (another of the
four) were putting together to help countless others who would follow in
days when Snyder sponsees were no longer with us. Steve, Dale, and Jack,
and their wives worked meticulously to get it right. And finally it was
given their approval, and published by Steve. It is a gem that is in
wide use today and growing in its popularity, utility, and historical
importance. Its cumbersome but accurate bibliography is as follows:
Our A.A. Legacy to the Faith Community: A Twelve-Step Guide for Those
Who Want to Believe by Three Clarence Snyder Old-timers and Their Wives.
Compiled and Edited by Dick B. (Winter Park, FL: Came to Believe
Publications, 2005). ISBN 0-9767292-0-2. You can track it down on
www.cametobelieve.org. and also can obtain it through Came to Believe
Publications, 2211 Lee Road, Suite 100, Winter Park, FL: 32789. Any time
you read it, remember the important part Dale Morfitt played in its
preparation and accuracy. He was the writer with the most sobriety.
For those who want to know the Clarence Snyder story, and who may no
longer hear Dale Morfitt tell it in terms of history and the steps, this
written legacy by Dale and the others is a treasure for all of us.
Gloria Deo
dickb@dickb.com,
P.O. Box 837, Kihei, HI: 96753-0837;
http://www.dickb.com/index.shtml
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