The Origin of the Lakeside Spiritual Retreat
Submitted September 22, 2022 by Charles P., Lakeside Board Archives Chairman
It is my understanding, after talking with “Old-Timers” in the 1990s, that Bob White attended an AA Retreat on the east coast some time in the 1950s. At that time there were only four or five retreats in the country. One was Blackstone in Virginia. Established in 1956, Blackstone had a program and formal slate of speakers. It was simple, but it was very inspirational.
During the winter months of 1960, several West Texas AAs began to spin a dream while sitting around one of their kitchen tables after an AA Meeting. And as the coffee pot perked its merry tune, the dream began to take on possibilities. The dream was for a place of retreat for AAs everywhere who longed for quiet fellowship and to fulfill a continuing need for things of the spirit.
Over the ensuing months, between and after meetings, plans began to develop, speakers were invited, and many details were worked out with an almost phenomenal ease of production—and with this came an equally phenomenal invitation. The Christian Church Camp on Lake Brownwood was offered by a good friend of AA, Reverend Dick Clayborne, the First Christian Church Minister in Midland, Texas.
Historical Context: The 1961 Operations
In the beginning, the conference operated on a shoestring budget at best. The weekend cost $25.00 per person in 1961. Adjusting for historical value, it wasn’t cheap; Octavia and Johnny Brooks even had to borrow $50.00 from their local credit union just to attend. In 1961, there was no official budget and no by-laws—just members operating entirely out of their back pockets.
The first official meeting was held the second weekend of September 1961. All in attendance were joyfully uplifted and were hopeful that the retreat would continue year after year. With the exception of two or three persons, it was their very first AA retreat experience.
On February 27, 1962, five months after the first gathering at the Lake Brownwood Christian Retreat Center, the group of like-minded folks approved and signed the Charter and adopted formal By-laws. Someone, possibly Bob White, loaned the newly formed corporation $100.00 to deposit in the San Angelo National Bank under the corporate entity name “Brownwood Lakeside A.A. Retreat.”
They set the date for the follow-up 1962 Conference as September 14–16. As we know today, that early structural planning was deeply inspirational for the longevity of the program, generating the exact framework we continue to experience each time we attend the Lakeside Conference.