Charles Edward Slocum was born in a stable at an unknown race track, somewhere in New York in 1903. He was carted from track to track following the racing circuit with his mother Orpha and father William, a jockey. His first known home was an apartment in Brooklyn, New York in 1905, where his parents lived with two other jockeys. His mother abandoned WIll and Charlie shortly thereafter, unable to endure the terrible ups and downs of the horse racing world.
In 1911, his parents divorced and young Charlie was permanently turned over to the custody of his father. He continued to move about following the racing circuit until the age of 17, when he went to live with his mother and stepfather in Detroit.
In 1924, he married Wilma Shaw and they had a son Jack Darwin in 1927. An alcoholic before the age of 25, Charlie had trouble holding jobs and Wilma divorced him in 1930. On the rebound, in 1931, Charlie met and married Olive Hannah Warren Davis, a widow with two children and five foster children!
Many years later, when Olive was asked, "Mama, why on earth would a upright Methodist Episcopal farm girl from Michigan marry an Irish Roman Catholic alcoholic?" Olive's curt response was, "I didn't know he drank!" Charlie quipped back, "Any man who would marry a widow with 7 kids in the heart of the Great Depression had to be drunk!" He followed up with, "But you know Charla, "I was wild about your mother, and always have been."
In 1932, Charlie and Olive had a daughter, Charla Joann, but by 1936, his alcoholism was so advanced he spent the Christmas tree money at Paddy's Saloon, where he placed 4 year old Charla on the bar to fill up on Okey-Dokes, cheese covered popcorn snacks. It wasn't long before Charlie was drunk, and thrown out of the saloon for engaging in arguments about the Irish. Stumbling toward home, he fell drunk into the dirty slushy snow of a downtown Detroit gutter. There Charla called out to passersby, "Please help me get my father up," only to hear the shaming sounds of "tsk, tsk, tsk," to her cries.
Like a miracle on Christmas eve, a kindly uniformed Salvation Army bellringer plucked the child and drunken man from the gutter and carried them home. There was no Christmas tree that year, and Charlie slipped deeper into shame and regret so common among alcoholics.
Desperate for a solution, in 1939, Charlie's wife Olive saw an article in Liberty Magazine about a group of men in Akron, Ohio who claimed to have a cure for the hopeless alcoholic. She drove Charles down to Akron to meet with the group led by sober alcoholics Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob Smith. Charlie heard the message of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and was able to remain sober the rest of his life.
Inspired by the success, Olive and Charlie invited Dr. Bob back to their home in Detroit, where the first meetings of AA were started in their home in 1939. Soon outgrown, new meetings began in a hall on Cass Ave and upstairs in an Episcopal church on Grand Ave in Detroit.
Then one night in 1941, while on his way to share his newfound sobriety with leaders of the Salvation Army at the Citadel in downtown Detroit, Charlie wandered into a meeting on skid row, not far the Detroit Times where he worked as a pressman. Inside, he met Henry F Milans, another former drunk newspaperman. There, Henry shared his faith in Christ with Charlie, and that night Charles Edward Slocum Davis surrendered his life to Christ. He would never be the same.
The next night, Olive insisted they go back down to the bowery so Olive could thank Henry Milans properly. Learning that the old man, nearly blind, was living in a hotel room, Olive insisted Henry come home with them, where Charlie and Olive moved into the basement, giving their upstairs room to the old man. There Henry became "Grampa Milans" to Charla, and spent the remainder of his life as the "Correspondent Evangelist" of the Salvation Army, writing thousands of hope-filled letters to wives and parents of alcoholics yet to find their way to freedom from the ravages of the bottle.
In 1946, Charlie and Olive started the first AA meeting held in a prison anywhere in the world, at the infamous San Quentin maximum security prison near San Francisco.
By 1951, Charlie had held steady jobs at Westinghouse Electric in Detroit, the US Naval Shipyard in Richmond, California, as a pressman at the San Francisco Bulletin and foreman of the press-room at the Valley News Corp in Los Angeles.
In 1954, shortly before his death, Charlie was offered a teaching position at UCLA in the mathematics department. He died of a heart attack 31 July 1954- Sober 17 years.
See also memorial for Henry F Milans: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/131993027/henry-f-milans and Angel Award winning book, "Charla's Children" about her work among the orphans of Mexico.
In 1911, his parents divorced and young Charlie was permanently turned over to the custody of his father. He continued to move about following the racing circuit until the age of 17, when he went to live with his mother and stepfather in Detroit.
In 1924, he married Wilma Shaw and they had a son Jack Darwin in 1927. An alcoholic before the age of 25, Charlie had trouble holding jobs and Wilma divorced him in 1930. On the rebound, in 1931, Charlie met and married Olive Hannah Warren Davis, a widow with two children and five foster children!
Many years later, when Olive was asked, "Mama, why on earth would a upright Methodist Episcopal farm girl from Michigan marry an Irish Roman Catholic alcoholic?" Olive's curt response was, "I didn't know he drank!" Charlie quipped back, "Any man who would marry a widow with 7 kids in the heart of the Great Depression had to be drunk!" He followed up with, "But you know Charla, "I was wild about your mother, and always have been."
In 1932, Charlie and Olive had a daughter, Charla Joann, but by 1936, his alcoholism was so advanced he spent the Christmas tree money at Paddy's Saloon, where he placed 4 year old Charla on the bar to fill up on Okey-Dokes, cheese covered popcorn snacks. It wasn't long before Charlie was drunk, and thrown out of the saloon for engaging in arguments about the Irish. Stumbling toward home, he fell drunk into the dirty slushy snow of a downtown Detroit gutter. There Charla called out to passersby, "Please help me get my father up," only to hear the shaming sounds of "tsk, tsk, tsk," to her cries.
Like a miracle on Christmas eve, a kindly uniformed Salvation Army bellringer plucked the child and drunken man from the gutter and carried them home. There was no Christmas tree that year, and Charlie slipped deeper into shame and regret so common among alcoholics.
Desperate for a solution, in 1939, Charlie's wife Olive saw an article in Liberty Magazine about a group of men in Akron, Ohio who claimed to have a cure for the hopeless alcoholic. She drove Charles down to Akron to meet with the group led by sober alcoholics Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob Smith. Charlie heard the message of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and was able to remain sober the rest of his life.
Inspired by the success, Olive and Charlie invited Dr. Bob back to their home in Detroit, where the first meetings of AA were started in their home in 1939. Soon outgrown, new meetings began in a hall on Cass Ave and upstairs in an Episcopal church on Grand Ave in Detroit.
Then one night in 1941, while on his way to share his newfound sobriety with leaders of the Salvation Army at the Citadel in downtown Detroit, Charlie wandered into a meeting on skid row, not far the Detroit Times where he worked as a pressman. Inside, he met Henry F Milans, another former drunk newspaperman. There, Henry shared his faith in Christ with Charlie, and that night Charles Edward Slocum Davis surrendered his life to Christ. He would never be the same.
The next night, Olive insisted they go back down to the bowery so Olive could thank Henry Milans properly. Learning that the old man, nearly blind, was living in a hotel room, Olive insisted Henry come home with them, where Charlie and Olive moved into the basement, giving their upstairs room to the old man. There Henry became "Grampa Milans" to Charla, and spent the remainder of his life as the "Correspondent Evangelist" of the Salvation Army, writing thousands of hope-filled letters to wives and parents of alcoholics yet to find their way to freedom from the ravages of the bottle.
In 1946, Charlie and Olive started the first AA meeting held in a prison anywhere in the world, at the infamous San Quentin maximum security prison near San Francisco.
By 1951, Charlie had held steady jobs at Westinghouse Electric in Detroit, the US Naval Shipyard in Richmond, California, as a pressman at the San Francisco Bulletin and foreman of the press-room at the Valley News Corp in Los Angeles.
In 1954, shortly before his death, Charlie was offered a teaching position at UCLA in the mathematics department. He died of a heart attack 31 July 1954- Sober 17 years.
See also memorial for Henry F Milans: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/131993027/henry-f-milans and Angel Award winning book, "Charla's Children" about her work among the orphans of Mexico.
Charles Edward Slocum was born in a stable at an unknown race track, somewhere in New York in 1903. He was carted from track to track following the racing circuit with his mother Orpha and father William, a jockey. His first known home was an apartment in Brooklyn, New York in 1905, where his parents lived with two other jockeys. His mother abandoned WIll and Charlie shortly thereafter, unable to endure the terrible ups and downs of the horse racing world.
In 1911, his parents divorced and young Charlie was permanently turned over to the custody of his father. He continued to move about following the racing circuit until the age of 17, when he went to live with his mother and stepfather in Detroit.
In 1924, he married Wilma Shaw and they had a son Jack Darwin in 1927. An alcoholic before the age of 25, Charlie had trouble holding jobs and Wilma divorced him in 1930. On the rebound, in 1931, Charlie met and married Olive Hannah Warren Davis, a widow with two children and five foster children!
Many years later, when Olive was asked, "Mama, why on earth would a upright Methodist Episcopal farm girl from Michigan marry an Irish Roman Catholic alcoholic?" Olive's curt response was, "I didn't know he drank!" Charlie quipped back, "Any man who would marry a widow with 7 kids in the heart of the Great Depression had to be drunk!" He followed up with, "But you know Charla, "I was wild about your mother, and always have been."
In 1932, Charlie and Olive had a daughter, Charla Joann, but by 1936, his alcoholism was so advanced he spent the Christmas tree money at Paddy's Saloon, where he placed 4 year old Charla on the bar to fill up on Okey-Dokes, cheese covered popcorn snacks. It wasn't long before Charlie was drunk, and thrown out of the saloon for engaging in arguments about the Irish. Stumbling toward home, he fell drunk into the dirty slushy snow of a downtown Detroit gutter. There Charla called out to passersby, "Please help me get my father up," only to hear the shaming sounds of "tsk, tsk, tsk," to her cries.
Like a miracle on Christmas eve, a kindly uniformed Salvation Army bellringer plucked the child and drunken man from the gutter and carried them home. There was no Christmas tree that year, and Charlie slipped deeper into shame and regret so common among alcoholics.
Desperate for a solution, in 1939, Charlie's wife Olive saw an article in Liberty Magazine about a group of men in Akron, Ohio who claimed to have a cure for the hopeless alcoholic. She drove Charles down to Akron to meet with the group led by sober alcoholics Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob Smith. Charlie heard the message of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and was able to remain sober the rest of his life.
Inspired by the success, Olive and Charlie invited Dr. Bob back to their home in Detroit, where the first meetings of AA were started in their home in 1939. Soon outgrown, new meetings began in a hall on Cass Ave and upstairs in an Episcopal church on Grand Ave in Detroit.
Then one night in 1941, while on his way to share his newfound sobriety with leaders of the Salvation Army at the Citadel in downtown Detroit, Charlie wandered into a meeting on skid row, not far the Detroit Times where he worked as a pressman. Inside, he met Henry F Milans, another former drunk newspaperman. There, Henry shared his faith in Christ with Charlie, and that night Charles Edward Slocum Davis surrendered his life to Christ. He would never be the same.
The next night, Olive insisted they go back down to the bowery so Olive could thank Henry Milans properly. Learning that the old man, nearly blind, was living in a hotel room, Olive insisted Henry come home with them, where Charlie and Olive moved into the basement, giving their upstairs room to the old man. There Henry became "Grampa Milans" to Charla, and spent the remainder of his life as the "Correspondent Evangelist" of the Salvation Army, writing thousands of hope-filled letters to wives and parents of alcoholics yet to find their way to freedom from the ravages of the bottle.
In 1946, Charlie and Olive started the first AA meeting held in a prison anywhere in the world, at the infamous San Quentin maximum security prison near San Francisco.
By 1951, Charlie had held steady jobs at Westinghouse Electric in Detroit, the US Naval Shipyard in Richmond, California, as a pressman at the San Francisco Bulletin and foreman of the press-room at the Valley News Corp in Los Angeles.
In 1954, shortly before his death, Charlie was offered a teaching position at UCLA in the mathematics department. He died of a heart attack 31 July 1954- Sober 17 years.
See also memorial for Henry F Milans: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/131993027/henry-f-milans and Angel Award winning book, "Charla's Children" about her work among the orphans of Mexico.
In 1911, his parents divorced and young Charlie was permanently turned over to the custody of his father. He continued to move about following the racing circuit until the age of 17, when he went to live with his mother and stepfather in Detroit.
In 1924, he married Wilma Shaw and they had a son Jack Darwin in 1927. An alcoholic before the age of 25, Charlie had trouble holding jobs and Wilma divorced him in 1930. On the rebound, in 1931, Charlie met and married Olive Hannah Warren Davis, a widow with two children and five foster children!
Many years later, when Olive was asked, "Mama, why on earth would a upright Methodist Episcopal farm girl from Michigan marry an Irish Roman Catholic alcoholic?" Olive's curt response was, "I didn't know he drank!" Charlie quipped back, "Any man who would marry a widow with 7 kids in the heart of the Great Depression had to be drunk!" He followed up with, "But you know Charla, "I was wild about your mother, and always have been."
In 1932, Charlie and Olive had a daughter, Charla Joann, but by 1936, his alcoholism was so advanced he spent the Christmas tree money at Paddy's Saloon, where he placed 4 year old Charla on the bar to fill up on Okey-Dokes, cheese covered popcorn snacks. It wasn't long before Charlie was drunk, and thrown out of the saloon for engaging in arguments about the Irish. Stumbling toward home, he fell drunk into the dirty slushy snow of a downtown Detroit gutter. There Charla called out to passersby, "Please help me get my father up," only to hear the shaming sounds of "tsk, tsk, tsk," to her cries.
Like a miracle on Christmas eve, a kindly uniformed Salvation Army bellringer plucked the child and drunken man from the gutter and carried them home. There was no Christmas tree that year, and Charlie slipped deeper into shame and regret so common among alcoholics.
Desperate for a solution, in 1939, Charlie's wife Olive saw an article in Liberty Magazine about a group of men in Akron, Ohio who claimed to have a cure for the hopeless alcoholic. She drove Charles down to Akron to meet with the group led by sober alcoholics Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob Smith. Charlie heard the message of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and was able to remain sober the rest of his life.
Inspired by the success, Olive and Charlie invited Dr. Bob back to their home in Detroit, where the first meetings of AA were started in their home in 1939. Soon outgrown, new meetings began in a hall on Cass Ave and upstairs in an Episcopal church on Grand Ave in Detroit.
Then one night in 1941, while on his way to share his newfound sobriety with leaders of the Salvation Army at the Citadel in downtown Detroit, Charlie wandered into a meeting on skid row, not far the Detroit Times where he worked as a pressman. Inside, he met Henry F Milans, another former drunk newspaperman. There, Henry shared his faith in Christ with Charlie, and that night Charles Edward Slocum Davis surrendered his life to Christ. He would never be the same.
The next night, Olive insisted they go back down to the bowery so Olive could thank Henry Milans properly. Learning that the old man, nearly blind, was living in a hotel room, Olive insisted Henry come home with them, where Charlie and Olive moved into the basement, giving their upstairs room to the old man. There Henry became "Grampa Milans" to Charla, and spent the remainder of his life as the "Correspondent Evangelist" of the Salvation Army, writing thousands of hope-filled letters to wives and parents of alcoholics yet to find their way to freedom from the ravages of the bottle.
In 1946, Charlie and Olive started the first AA meeting held in a prison anywhere in the world, at the infamous San Quentin maximum security prison near San Francisco.
By 1951, Charlie had held steady jobs at Westinghouse Electric in Detroit, the US Naval Shipyard in Richmond, California, as a pressman at the San Francisco Bulletin and foreman of the press-room at the Valley News Corp in Los Angeles.
In 1954, shortly before his death, Charlie was offered a teaching position at UCLA in the mathematics department. He died of a heart attack 31 July 1954- Sober 17 years.
See also memorial for Henry F Milans: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/131993027/henry-f-milans and Angel Award winning book, "Charla's Children" about her work among the orphans of Mexico.
Inscription
Beloved Husband of Olive
