THE FORERUNNER - ROWLAND
By: RON RAY yarnor@msn.com  140 Dove Trail
Bowling Green, KY 42101

After telling Rowland Hazard that he could never regain his role in society,
Dr. Carl Gustav Jung (1875-1961) the renown Swiss psychiatrist was asked, "Is
there no exceptions?" "Yes," replied Dr. Jung, "...once in a while alcoholics
have had what are called vital spiritual experiences." He went on to describe
a spiritual experience as "... huge emotional displacements and
rearrangements. Ideas, emotions, and attitudes which were once guiding forces
... are suddenly cast to one side and completely new set of conceptions and
motives begin to dominate them." (pg. 26/27 Alcoholics Anonymous)

The doctor admitted his failure in bringing about this psychic change in
Rowland.  He went on to dash Rowland's hope that strong religious convictions
could alone bring about a "vital spiritual experience."
Rowland's father Rowland Gibson Hazard, (The Hazard family tree had an
unbroken chain of Rowland's dating back to 1763. Every alternate generation
bore the middle name of Gibson) had been superintendent of the Congregational
Sabbath School for twenty-five years. The comments in the "Big Book" coupled
with the religious upbringing in his father's home leads us to conclude that
he had more than a passive belief in God. His mother's father, a Yale
graduate, was a man of the cloth. At the time of his death, (December 20,
1945) Rowland was a vestryman in Calvary Episcopal Church, New York City and
a member of ST. Peter's-by-the-sea, Narragansett, R.I. AA students will
identify Calvary Episcopal with the Rev. Sam Shoemaker and the Oxford Group
which served as the spiritual support group for Bill Wilson and other early
sober alcoholics. According to Louis Wilson, Rowland was an ardent Oxford
Grouper until his death. NOTE: The Oxford Group changed its name in 1938 to
Moral Re-Armament (MRA). No mention is found in any of three lengthy
obituaries about Rowland's affiliation with either the Oxford Group or MRA.
The Rev. Sam Shoemaker one of the founders of the Oxford Group in the U. S.
broke with the movement in 1941. During the late thirties and early forties
many Groupers distanced themselves from the misunderstood views of Frank
Buchman, the principle leader of the Movement. While they may have fled the
Movement it is difficult to believe they abandoned its teaching of the Four
Absolutes: Love, Honesty, Purity and Unselfishness, nor the Group's practice
of self-evaluation, confession, restitution, guidance from God and working
with others. The Oxford Group's teachings and practices were not distant from
AA's Twelve Steps. A note of interest: In the Cleveland/Akron AA the Four
Absolutes are still emphasized.

Hazard family of Rhode Island was a paragon of respectability and moral
values. Their leadership in education, government and industry bore witness
to their values. Roots in Rhode Island reached back 350 years as early
settlers of the colony. Rowland was the tenth generation of Hazards in Rhode
Island. His forebears were large landowners, manufacturers, men and women of
learning in literature and science. They left their imprint on a growing
America as achievers, leaders and philanthropist. It was into this regal
family style that Rowland was born October 29, 1881. (Two years after Dr. Bob
Smith and fourteen years before Bill Wilson.)

Rowland grew up in wealth, respectability and in a family that for its day
placed great value on human relations. His grandfather was known as the
"Father of the American Alkali Industry." Unlike the robber barons of his
day, Grandfather Rowland had unusual respect for the dignity of his
employees. At the family woolen mills in Rhode Island he introduced one of
the first profit sharing programs in America. After the purchase of a lead
mine in Missouri in 1874 he found the miners living in "ignorance,
wretchedness, squalor and drunkenness." He shortened the workweek, built
decent housing and started a school. Writing he said, "Place a people
face-to-face with vast labors, lower their physical tone by an enervating
climate, let them find experience that the labors are too great for their
powers: slipshod habits result with whiskey as a relief from trouble." In
1875 his fellow industrialists must have considered this enlightened
statement liberal and radical.

Grandmother Margaret is credited with introducing one of the first
kindergartens to America. Aunt Caroline was President of Wellesley College at
the turn of the century. Father Rowland Gipson was President of Peace Dale
Manufacturing, Peace Dale, R.I. and Vice-President of Solvay Process,
Syracuse, N.Y.

Peace Dale, Rhode Island was the Hazard family seat. It could well be called
their town from the mill that provides jobs to the cluster of Hazard estates.
There was Oakwood built in 1854 by grandfather Rowland; Holly House where
young Rowland lived from age eleven; Aunt Helen's home where Pulitzer Prize
(1941) winning poet Leonard Bacon grew to adulthood; and the Scallop Shell,
home of Aunt Caroline upon her return from Wellesley.

The "well to do" customarily sent their young men to prep school for
education directed toward college and for training in moral disciplines and
social skills. Young Rowland attended Fay School in Southborough, Mass., and
Taft School in Watertown, Conn. On to Yale in 1899, Rowland received a
Bachelor-of-Arts degree with the class of 1903. At Yale he was called "Ike,"
"Roy" and "Rowley." He sang in the freshman and Varsity Glee Clubs as well as
the chapel choir. Rowland's choice of Yale was a break from his father and
grandfather's tradition of Brown University. On his mother's side of the
family there was a long line of Yale attendees including Eli Whitney of --
cotton gin fame.

The years following Yale were spent learning the family business. Pace Dale
Manufacturing Company was the base industry from which the family's business
empire sprang. The wool mill at Peace Dale was in family ownership from 1802
to 1918. During the Civil War it was a major producer of army blankets. By
the time Rowland entered the milling business it was in its waning years in
the North. Rowland started out in the wool sorting Department. Upon the death
of Rowland's father the milling Business was sold to the Stevens Company who
moved it to North Carolina.

The Hazard's had many investments and businesses far more exciting than the
wool milling business. One such business was Semet- Solvay, the nations
leading producer of coke and coke ovens. Its sister company Solvay Process
Company produced soda ash, caustic soda, calcium chloride, ammonia and soda
bicarbonate. The latter product was sold exclusively to Church and Dwight of
"Arm and Hammer" brand fame. As part of Rowland's "on-the-job" training, he
work for Semet-Solvay in Chicago. In 1906 he was transferred to Syracuse.
The 3rd Annual Yale Class of 1903 Reunion Book made special note that Rowland
had an appendectomy in 1906 and spent the summer recuperating at Peace Dale.
Hardly news worthy today, but in 1906 any abdominal surgery was a major
medical procedure.
Following his recuperation he joined Peace Dale Manufacturing as
Secretary-Treasure. Working up the business ladder as son-of-the-owner is
much more rapid than as the normal aspiring employee. Not intending to
distract from Rowland's effort and ability as a business manger, he did have
doors of opportunity open more quickly because he was a Hazard of Rhode
Island. Life in the business world could adjust to accommodate his desired
life style. Dr. Jung in one of his writings refers to a wealthy American
businessman he treated for alcoholism. While not mentioning the man by name,
Dr. Jung wrote that the management success in business was due to a powerful
protective mother who shielded him from being judged by his performance.
(It's this writer's view that Dr. Jung was writing about Rowland.)

The winter of 1909-10 was spent traveling in the Western states. Upon return
he married Helen Hamilton Campbell the daughter of a Chicago banker and a
graduate of Briar Cliff. They spent the next several months traveling abroad.

The Hazards were involved in local, state and national politics. Being
involved in politics came with being a Hazard. Rowland became active in the
Republican Party. As a delegate, he attended the 1912 Republican National
Convention which re-nominated President William H. Taft to the slate. >From
1914 to 1916 he served in the Rhode Island State Senate. As World War I got
started he became a civilian member of the U. S. Ordnance Department. Later
Rowland resigned to accept a commission as Captain in the Army's Chemical
Warfare Service.

Helen and Rowland had for children: 
Caroline (1913), Rowland Gibson (1917), Peter (1918) and Charles W. B. (1920). 
(All are now dead, with Charles passing away February 27, 1995.)

When Rowland's father died in 1918 neither he nor his younger brother Thomas
wanted to manage the day-to-day operation of the several companies that the
Hazard family controlled. Peace Dale Manufacturing was sold July 1, 1918 to
the Stevens Company. Semet-Solvay Company and the Solvay Process Company
joined with three other chemical companies December 17, 1920 to create Allied
Chemical and Dye Corporation (now Allied Signal, multi-billion corporation).
Rowland served on Allied's board of directors from its inception until his
death. He also served many years on the board of Interlake Iron Corporation
(now Acme Metals Inc.) Any problem Rowland had with alcohol did not lead to
dismissal from either board. However, with the Hazard family so deeply
invested in the companies the antics of the drinker can be explained away and
covered up. Yes. There is corporate denial.

The socially prominent New England families of the 1920's and 30's were mum
about family problems. Especially were they guarded about moral weakness in
their ranks. In that day many considered alcoholics to be morally weak
people. The exact onset of Rowland's problem with alcohol is difficult to
fix. Some events would lead this writer to believe it could have been as
early as World War I. When his father died in 1918 why didn't he take over
the operating helm? Rowland was 37 and had held several positions within the
corporations. Younger brother Thomas was 26 and only three years out of
college, yet Thomas not Rowland became the one to administer the Hazard
estate.

There is a brief mention of Rowland being president of Solvay Securities
(likely a family holding) from 1918-21. This was probably a token position.
His obituary reports that 1920-27 he was a member of Lee Higginson & Company,
a New York investment banker. The public accounting of 1927 lists that
Rowland resigned Lee Higginson to travel in Africa. This adventure was
generally reserved for the rich and the royal of that day,
We know from Bill's letter of January 23, 1961, to Dr. Jung that Rowland was
under Dr. Jung's care in Zurich, Switzerland in 1931. On page 26 of the Big
Book we find more insight into Rowland's battle with alcohol: "For years he
had floundered from one sanitarium to another. He had consulted the best
known American psychiatrists." This short statement leads us to believe that
several years prior to 1931 Rowland and his family sought solutions to his
problem with alcohol. Ebby Thatcher who carried the message to Bill had this
to say about Rowland: "I was very much impressed by his drinking career,
which consisted of prolonged sprees where he traveled all over the country."
The 1927-35 period is vague and sketchy. In published accounts of Rowland's
life (Yale Class Reunion Books and obituaries) one is left with the feeling
he and the family went to great effort to explain his absence from the
business world.

According to published accounts, the eight-year period was a mixture of
health problems and private ventures away from Peace Dale and New York City.
While in Africa the reports say he contracted a tropical disease, and in 1928
he traveled to the Pacific Coast for his health. In 1929 he bought a ranch in
New Mexico. Upon discovery of high-grade clay on the ranch, he organized in
1931-32 the La Luz Clay Products Company to produce floor and roof tile. In
1932 he took up residence in Vermont. Between 1932 and 1936 he divided much
of his time between Vermont and New Mexico. There is never any mention of
Rowland's travel to Zurich in 1931 nor the "about one year" spent in Dr.
Jung's care. (Mentioned in Bill's January 23, 1961 letter to Dr. Jung.) In
the letter to Dr. Jung, Bill writes, "Mr. Hazard joined the Oxford Groups, an
evangelical movement then at the height of its success in Europe... Returning
to New York he became very active with "O.G." here, then led by an Episcopal
Clergyman, Dr. Samuel Shoemaker."

August 1934 Rowland was at his home in Shaftsbury, Vt., 15 miles south of
Manchester. It was during this stay in Shaftsbury that he learned through two
Groupers of Ebby Thatcher's possible six-month sentence to Windsor Prison for
repeated drunkenness. The Groupers were Shep Cornell and Cebra Graves.
Cebra's father was Judge Graves before whom Ebby was to appear in Bennington,
Vt. Rowland and Cebra intervened at the hearing and asked to have Ebby be
bound over to Rowland who would take him to New York. Judge Graves agreed and
Rowland took Ebby to his home in Shaftsbury. Later Ebby was taken to New York
City where he stayed with Shep Cornell. Of the first meeting with Rowland,
Ebby said, "...he was a good guy. The first day he came to see me he helped
me clean up the place."

Ebby's carrying the message to Bill is well known, but little is known about
Rowland's personal sharing with Bill. Robert Thomsen in his book Bill W.
writes that Bill could never recollect if it was Ebby or Rowland who gave him
William James', The Varieties of Religious Experience. A likely scenario is
that Rowland gave the book to Ebby who in turn passed it on to Bill. Thomsen
also reveals that Grace McC., Rowland, Ebby and others would join with Bill,
after the "O.G." meetings, around a little table in the rear of Stewarts
Cafeteria (New York City) for coffee and sharing.

The absence of mention by Bill, Lois, Ebby or other early AA members about
Rowland joining the fellowship, leads us to conclude he never joined AA. Lois
wrote in Lois Remembers: "...he remained an ardent Oxford Grouper until his
death in 194 5."  Lois goes on to mention that Cebra later joined AA in
Paris.

From Rowland's perspective there was no compelling reason to join AA. After
all he was sober eight years by the time the Big Book was published. His
sobriety is evidenced (pg. 26, Big Book), "But this man still lives and is a
free man... He can go anywhere on earth where other free men may go without
disaster, provided he remains willing to maintain a certain attitude."

THE FORERUNNER – ROWLAND  (Part II)
By: RON RAY yarnor@msn.com
140 Dove Trail
Bowling Green, KY 42101

Rowland returned to Wall Street as general partner in Tailer & Robinson a brokerage firm. That was in 1935. The years 1938-39 saw him associated with Lockwood Greene Engineers Inc.. In 1940-41 he reports that he was an independent consultant. This later job position is often a resume explanation for periods of unemployment. In 1941 Rowland became Executive Vice-President, Bristol Manufacturing of Waterbury, Conn. Bristol (now Bristol Babcock of Watertown, Conn.) is a leading manufacturer of industrial measuring and recording devices.

While at his office desk on Thursday, December 20,1945,Rowland suddenly died of a coronary occlusion. At the time of his death he and his wife Helen resided on Park Avenue in New York City, but also held a legal residence in Peace Dale, R.I.

Much sadness filled his last years. Rowland Gibson his oldest son, a Captain in the army was killed in 1941. Peter his second son, a Naval pilot, deliberately flew his plane into a screen of American flax while pursuing a Japanese kamikaze plane. Peter was first reported missing in action March 1945, but this was later confirmed as killed in action. (Helen died October 17, 1946 from pneumonia which develop after she was over come by carbon monoxide fumes in her garage.)

Of all the contributions Rowland and his famous family made in industry and through philanthropic activities, none has had a more far reaching impact as Rowland's unselfish effort in sobering up Ebby. If not the first 12th Step call, certainly one that gave birth to a chain of events that have impacted the lives of millions of men and women.

 MORE NOTES ON ROWLAND HAZARD

May 7,1995, I finally made telephone contact with the home of Charles W.P. Hazard Spoke with Edith the wife of Charles. She told me that Charles had died February 27, 1995  

She claimed to know very little about Rowland except that Charles found it difficult to talk about his father. This could be in part to Rowland's long absences from the family. She said as far as they, the family, knew - Rowland never took another drink after getting sober.  

Having read this paper on Rowland, Edith wrote me on May 12,1995: "Your paper shows evidence of much hard work, however, I do not feel capable or authorized to validate or add to its content."

The traditional link of “Rowland/Rowland G./Rowland” that had been the chain of father-to-son passing the name down was broken when Rowland's oldest son was killed while serving in the Army in 1944. Charles did name a son Rowland.

October 17,1946, Helen the wife of Rowland died from pneumonia which developed after she was over come by carbon monoxide fumes in her garage. Her personal estate was valued at $80,000. This should not be read as her total net worth. No doubt much of the family wealth was concealed in a trust to protect it from taxes and drain. The rich of New England had a saying, "Never touch the principle."

It was reported to me that Helen and Rowland were divorced for short period circa 1929/31. I have no hard evidence to this claim, but it would fit in to the chain of events around Rowland seeking help from Dr Jung.

Peter the second eldest son was awarded the DFC posthumously for action in the battle of Okinawa. His story is reported in the book, LITTLE GIANTS by W. T. T. Blood Naval Institute Press. The book is about the “baby flat-tops” of WWII.

One of Rowland’s more famous kin was Oliver Hazard Perry of the “War of 1812” fame. The Eastern Kentucky town of Hazard in Perry County was named in honor of the Naval Hero.

Revisited and re-edited April 24, 2001 by Ron Ray

addendum by LDP host of AA Bibliography Website:
I too am kin to Oliver Hazard Perry via my grandfather’s family tree-Faus Surname.