Sojourn into History
written and contributed by Bill C from Winding It Up

  Friends of Bill W. seeking a genuine spiritual uplift need look no farther than a six-hour drive northeast from Harrisburg to E. Dorset in the southwest corner of Vermont. This, as we know, is where William Griffith Wilson was born on November 26,1895, in a room behind a bar in the village hotel run by his grand-mother.
    What most of us don’t know is that this same hotel, which had fallen into what appeared to be hopeless ruin by 1987, has been 95 percent restored to its original condition and is now open to day visitors and overnight lodgers. In fact, all the buildings and natural sites that played key roles in shaping young Bill Wilson are intact for all to see.
 

Bill’s childhood connections
 

    Rising just to the west of The Wilson House is Mount Aeolus, which all his life drew Bill back to E. Dorset.
    Just across the street to the north from The Wilson House is the Congregational Church which Bill attended as a boy. And next to that is the Griffith House, home of Bill’s maternal grandparents with whom Bill lived from age eleven until he left to serve in France in World War I. Emerald Lake, where Bill is said to have proposed to Lois Burnham, is a short distance north of E. Dorset.
    And seven miles to the south in Manchester, Vermont, are the beautiful summer homes of Ebby Thatcher’s family and Lois Burnham’s father, Dr. Clark Burnham.
The Burr and Burton School, Bill’s high school, is also still there.
But it is the Wilson House itself that is the key focus to those who embark on this spiritual venture.
 

Restoration now 95% finished
 

Now owned by a non-profit foundation, the House underwent massive restoration in 1987 when first steps were taken to preserve the building. At that time, windows were falling out, a large portion of the building was collapsing, and a good-sized tree was growing up through the kitchen floor.
Today, thanks mostly to voluntary donations, the house is nearly back to the way it was when original construction was finished in 1852.
The atmosphere of the building gives heightened meaning to the word "serene".
There are no radios, telephones or televisions in the 14 bedrooms.
The absence of these ultra-modern conveniences enhances the peaceful, quiet spirit of the House, which is ideally conducive to prayer, meditation, reading, and fellowship.
 

    Many members of AA contend that the meeting room in the rear of the hotel is, by itself, worth the trip to E. Dorset. Among its many unique features is the hotel’s old bar, which is suspended from the ceiling near the front of the room. The upper portion of the walls are almost completely covered with old license plates bearing recovery messages. And a large fireplace promises warmth on chilly evenings. Local AA and Alanon groups hold several meetings. Educational seminars are held several times a year, and “Big Book’ studies and step studies are very popular.
    A smaller meeting room adjacent to the main one, permits two functions to be held at the same time.

    The Griffith House, also part of the non-profit foundation, is home to the Griffith Library, an extensive collection
of recovery literature, including original documents from AA's very beginnings. A list of current holdings is available, and contributions of materials are welcomed.
    For more information call Ozzie or Bonnie, caretakers of The Wilson House, at 1-802-362-5524, or e-mail them at wilsonhs@adelphia.net
    Finally, about one and one-half miles south is E. Dorset cemetery where Bill and Lois Wilson are buried side by side. The grave site has been the destination of pilgrimages by untold thousands of men and women who owe their very lives to Bill Wilson and the gift of Alcoholics Anonymous.
   
    You will probably find a small basket at Bill’s head-stone, a basket containing sobriety medallions, prayers, hand-written notes of gratitude, and other mementos. You can add yours to the collection.