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Alano Club celebrates 40th anniversary this Saturday

GLADSTONE -- The Delta Alano Club in Gladstone, which houses meetings of Alcoholics Anonymous (A.A.) and Al-Anon and organizes events for members, is celebrating its 40th anniversary this Saturday.

A.A. began in 1935 with two men, William Wilson and Robert Silkworth -- better known as Bill W. and Dr. Bob. -- both of whom had struggled with alcohol addiction themselves before getting sober. Their understanding of the problem as a disease led to treatment developing around a 12-step program that is now widely understood to be a successful route to sobriety, thereby allowing individuals to achieve more in their personal and professional lives, advocates say.

"We're all a big family here. … Everybody can count on anybody else just to lean on and talk with," said Joan from the Delta Alano Club Board of Directors, which includes members of both A.A. and Al-Anon.

Al-Anon is made up of "loved ones or someone who's been affected by somebody else's drinking," said member Anna. They, too, have a 12-step program. "Our life is just as unmanageable as the alcoholics because we're so consumed with them," Anna explained.

One of the core elements of A.A. is that it is based on one alcoholic helping another. Members work in pairs but also as a group. In Delta County, meetings were -- and still are -- held at the Delta Drop-In in Escanaba, but in the early '80s, some Gladstone residents found the location in Esky difficult to reach at times. Anna's husband had been in recovery for three years when he attended a meeting at an Alano Club in Kalamazoo and brought the idea for a similar building back to Gladstone with him.

The congregation of Grace Baptist Church moved to a new location, and the church building they vacated at 601 Michigan Avenue went on the market. Anna recalled, "It was $25,000 -- well, that was beyond our reach."

However, the hopeful group of A.A. and Al-Anon members from Gladstone and nearby communities received a tip from a local Realtor when the price of the former church dropped to $14,000, said Anna. Each of the 21 people in that founding group chipped in $20, and three of them signed papers at the bank to say that they were good for the rest of the $14K. Their submission of $420 and three signatures was accepted, and the building on Michigan Avenue became the Delta Alano Club.

The building suits their needs and reinforces their values:

"There's twelve steps going upstairs. And I said, when we walked in that first day, it's prophetic that we get this building," said Anna. Today, numbers are painted on the risers of the stairs.

Donations and volunteer work have made the Delta Alano Club a facility suited for hosting productive meetings in addition to social gatherings. Tables and chairs were donated by members, and "the tables we had for the meeting, two guys made 'em out of plywood," said Anna. She said that when there had been a wood furnace, Mead used to donate lumber they couldn't use. The portico over a large patio -- also built from donated materials -- was constructed using railroad ties.

The club raises money for continued improvements and upkeep through pasty sales and donations.

Past social gatherings organized for members by the Delta Alano Club have included a chili cook-off, a beach party, a pig roast at the park, camp outs at Twin Springs, cribbage tournaments, and holiday picnics.

"We're not too activity-minded lately since Covid, but we're trying to get things back going," Anna reported.

This Saturday, Sept. 23, is the "birthday dinner" to celebrate 40 years since the founding of the Delta Alano Club in 1983. The meeting begins at 3:40 p.m. The club will be seeking to appoint two new board members and asks people to consider bringing a small gift for the club, as is tradition. For the celebration, friends and members of the Delta Alano Club area encouraged to "bring the family for a fantastic meal, 50/50 raffle, conversation and fun!"