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History Sections: Nothing happens without a purpose The first club house Moving, growing, moving Sobriety in a winery Settling in and disaster Hard times get better Here we go again No more rent Ready or not, here we come Troubled waters Wham, bam A new beginning Kitchen Menu Informational Brochure Application The 2008 Alano Classic The Alano Club of San Jose 1122 Fair Ave. San Jose, CA. 95122 Tel: 408.297.1878 Fax: 408.297.4100 Directions

READY OR NOT, HERE WE COME The excitement of owning their own clubhouse ran high among the members, spurring many to spend long hours in revamping and refurbishing the place, always cheered on by a steady stream of onlookers coming for their first look-see or returning for periodic progress checks. Anxieties built up waiting for the great moment, until the decision was made, "Let's do it!" It was a Saturday, October 20th, and the initiation of the club was to be the eight o'clock meeting of the Alano Family Group. Last minute details found volunteers still scrambling while managers Glenn and Thelma G. made ready as best they could. Secretary Joe C. opened and Chairman Sam B. led the largest meeting of the year for that Group as 110 AA's listened and shared in the topic "AA Participation". The largest collection of the year, $26.00, still left the Group $26.60 in the hole, but the inauguration was complete. Less than a month later, Dr. Earle spoke at the first club dinner on November 17th. The club was open for business. The new place quickly became the center of Valley AA activity, continuing to support Inter-Group and H&I meetings, adding other specialized meetings, including being host to the NCC Summer Meeting in July of 1963. A small room off the entrance lobby became the local AA library, offering Big Books, Twelve by Twelve's and assorted AA literature. Shortly after opening, several AA's began an attempt to bring about a closer feeling of unity among the increasing number of Groups in the County, and in March of 1963, SCAN (Santa Clara Alcoholic News) made its appearance, issued from the club using the library as an editors office. That lasted until July 15th when the first real Central Office was opened downtown in Room 208 of the Porter Building at 57 E. Santa Clara St. The club continued to serve as the main meeting place for Inter-Group and most other special committees and groups. Another small room across the entry stairs from the library became home for a night watchman after a few attempted burglaries made it an obvious necessity. General improvements continued to be made, including a barbecue in the back and a pool room in 1966, but membership roles shrank to less than half the over 300 mark reached on opening day. Glenn and Thelma retired in December 1965, being replaced by Ralph A. and assistant Lee L. The five man Board of Directors became engrossed in trying to find ways to promote the club. The 1965 General Membership meeting almost exclusively dealt with ways to gain new members, including inviting people to the club, paying one months dues for new members, courtesy cards with maps on the back, contacting members who had dropped out, and a concentrated membership drive. It was decided to hold quarterly membership meetings, and the final note was "Circulate and Talk Alano Club!". The struggle continued, and at a special Board Meeting on May 15, 1967, the decision was made to lay off Manager, Ralph, as of June 1. They couldn't pay the $400 a month salary. Even though membership dropped, those that stayed with the club enjoyed many festivities. Regular dances with live bands, beauty pageants, fashion shows and bingo livened the halls. White Elephant sales were combined with socials for fund raising. Raffles were popular over the years, prizes including a color TV, Niagra Lounge Chair, and one year, a brand new car. Parking was a problem, so a wooden water tank and pump house to the side had to go. Gravel was donated, which helped, but the obvious solution was more land. About a quarter acre by the club was owned by the church next door, and was available for $11,000. That seemed the answer, but when the club applied for money the Wells Fargo Bank wanted all members with jobs and property to co-sign for the loan. Jack, one of the members, sold labels to Joseph George Liquor Distributors, one of the largest in the area, and knew Joseph, personally. Jack had told him he was a member of AA and mentioned the difficulty, so when Joe called the bank and threatened to move his accounts to another bank, the loan was approved immediately. Continue...