Jim Wilson got clean & sober on March 7th, 1988 in Cincinnati, Ohio.  He became impassioned about helping others and learning to have fun in recovery.  His family at the time owned a trout hatchery and campground in the remote mountains of West Virginia.  Jim, along with a few other key people, had the idea of starting an annual recovery campout.  The first of these annual weekend events was in August of 1990 and more than one hundred individuals and families from the tri-state area enjoyed the recovery weekend.  A planning committee was established and this event grew over the next few years to include people from even more states and Canada.  For many, including clean & sober motorcycle groups, this campout was an annual pilgrimage.  When the hatchery sold after a few years, the much loved campout ended... 

Jim missed hosting the gathering of like-minded friends in recovery.  So in 1997, he opened his home and hosted a monthly get together which included a home-cooked meal, fellowship, and an AA speaker meeting.  Speakers came from neighboring states and enjoyed some West Virginia hospitality.  More AA meetings were started at Jim's home.  In fact, at one point, there were three meetings there a week plus the monthly pitch-in meal.  It was during this time that Jim picked up a new sponsee, John B., who in turn started an AA monthly Bonfire at his home in Mingo, WV in 1998.  Hundreds have enjoyed the recovery fellowship at John's Cycle Camp in Mingo over the last 25 years. Sadly, John went to be with his Heavenly Father in 2023...

In 2016, Jim and Faith started having recovery Bonfires at their home in Elkins, WV on the last Saturday of each month.  During the winter months, they often had movie nights where they would gather for food & fellowship and then show a recovery or faith-based movie followed by a discussion.  These events continued until 2020 when COVID-19 hit...

The Bonfires resumed in 2023, but with some cool extras!  We changed our meeting format to a modified 12-2-1 Roundtable.  If you haven't tried a Roundtable yet, we hope you'll try a Demo here.

We look forward to seeing you all in 2024!