Monroe and Isabel Smith

Monroe William Smith, a former Boy Scout executive, and his wife Isabel Bacheler Smith, art teacher, founded American Youth Hostels as a young couple, in 1934, in Northfield, Massachusetts. Monroe also founded Youth Argosy, an organization intended to "provide travel opportunities for worthy young people of slender means"[1] 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.[1][2]

Monroe W. Smith
Born(1901-01-22)January 22, 1901
Sunderland, Massachusetts
DiedJanuary 8, 1972(1972-01-08) (aged 70)
Delray Beach, Florida
Resting placeArvada, Colorado
NationalityAmerican
Other namesMoney
OccupationYouth leader, outdoorsman, pilot, businessman
Known forCo-founder of American Youth Hostels, Youth Argosy
Isabel B. Smith
Born(1898-12-12)December 12, 1898
Hartford, Connecticut
DiedMay 3, 1985(1985-05-03) (aged 86)
Boulder, Colorado
Resting placeArvada, Colorado
NationalityAmerican
OccupationArtist
Known forCo-founder of American Youth Hostels

Monroe attended 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 movement was born.[3]

Monroe was born on January 22, 1901 in Sunderland, Massachusetts and died on December 8, 1972 in Delray Beach, Florida. Isabel was born on December 12, 1898 in Hartford, Connecticut and died on May 3, 1985 in Boulder, Colorado. They had three children, Elizabeth, Steve, and Jonathan.

  • Monroe & Isabel Smith with globe
  • Isabel & Monroe standing in front of hostel in Northfield, Massachusetts
  • Northfield Chateau, first American Youth Hostel
  • First official hostel at Northfield

References
  1. Eugene G. Schwartz (2006). American Students Organize: Founding the National Student Association after World War II : An Anthology and Sourcebook. Praeger. ISBN 0-275-99100-8.
  2. "History of Hostelling International USA (formerly American Youth Hostels)". Retrieved 2009-10-16.
  3. "History of Hostelling 1909-1934". Retrieved 2009-10-16.
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