Monroe and Isabel Smith
Encyclopedia
Monroe William Smith, a former Boy Scout
executive and wife Isabel Bacheler Smith, art teacher, founded American Youth Hostels
as a young couple, in 1934, in Northfield
, Massachusetts. Monroe Smith, also founded Youth Argosy
, an organization intended to "provide travel opportunities for worthy young people of slender means" and resigned his directorship of American Youth Hostels in 1949 to devote time to Youth Argosy. After a promising start, Youth Argosy went bankrupt in 1951, largely due to a new Civil Aeronautics Board regulation aimed at small charter groups.
Monroe went to the Mount Hermon School for boys in 1919. After graduation he became a Massachusetts school teacher and boy scout leader. During a scout trip to Europe, Monroe and Isabel met Richard Schirrmann
and learned about his German Hostelling Organization. They later attended the second International Hosteling Meeting in 1933 and brought the idea of Hosteling back to the United States where the American Hostelling International (AYH)
movement was born.
Monroe was born on January 22, 1901 in Sunderland MA and died December 8, 1972 in Delray Beach FL. Isabel was born December 12, 1898 in Hartford CT and died May 3, 1985 in Boulder, CO. Monroe and Isabel had three children, Elizabeth (Betty), Steve, and Jonathan Smith. At age 16, Steve was featured in the February 23, 1948 edition of Life magazine for building a planetarium at their home in Northfield MA.
Boy Scout
A Scout is a boy or a girl, usually 11 to 18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement. Because of the large age and development span, many Scouting associations have split this age group into a junior and a senior section...
executive and wife Isabel Bacheler Smith, art teacher, founded American Youth Hostels
American Youth Hostels
American Youth Hostels, Inc. is a 501 nonprofit membership organization founded in 1934 by Monroe W. Smith, whose formal name is Hostelling International USA . It is the American member of Hostelling International. It is incorporated in New York.Youth hostels offer inexpensive temporary...
as a young couple, in 1934, in Northfield
Northfield, Massachusetts
Northfield is a town in Franklin County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 2,951 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area...
, Massachusetts. Monroe Smith, also founded Youth Argosy
Youth Argosy
Youth Argosy was an organization with tax exempt status for educational and charitable purposes which was dedicated to helping students travel internationally. It was incorporated on May 11, 1948 by Monroe and Isabel Smith who also founded American Youth Hostels...
, an organization intended to "provide travel opportunities for worthy young people of slender means" and resigned his directorship of American Youth Hostels in 1949 to devote time to Youth Argosy. After a promising start, Youth Argosy went bankrupt in 1951, largely due to a new Civil Aeronautics Board regulation aimed at small charter groups.
Monroe went to the Mount Hermon School for boys in 1919. After graduation he became a Massachusetts school teacher and boy scout leader. During a scout trip to Europe, Monroe and Isabel met Richard Schirrmann
Richard Schirrmann
Richard Schirrmann was a German teacher and founder of the first youth hostel.Born in Grunenfeld , Province of Prussia, as the son of a teacher, Schirrmann studied to become a teacher himself. In 1895 he received his qualification, and was sent to Altena, Westphalia, in 1903...
and learned about his German Hostelling Organization. They later attended the second International Hosteling Meeting in 1933 and brought the idea of Hosteling back to the United States where the American Hostelling International (AYH)
American Youth Hostels
American Youth Hostels, Inc. is a 501 nonprofit membership organization founded in 1934 by Monroe W. Smith, whose formal name is Hostelling International USA . It is the American member of Hostelling International. It is incorporated in New York.Youth hostels offer inexpensive temporary...
movement was born.
Monroe was born on January 22, 1901 in Sunderland MA and died December 8, 1972 in Delray Beach FL. Isabel was born December 12, 1898 in Hartford CT and died May 3, 1985 in Boulder, CO. Monroe and Isabel had three children, Elizabeth (Betty), Steve, and Jonathan Smith. At age 16, Steve was featured in the February 23, 1948 edition of Life magazine for building a planetarium at their home in Northfield MA.
External links
- History of Hostelling International USA (formerly American Youth Hostels)
- http://www.massmoments.org/moment.cfm?mid=371
- http://www.hiusa.org/about_us/history