Messersmith, Donald Howard, 1928-

The Potomac Area Council American Youth Hostels (PAC-AYH) is an organization that promotes outdoor recreational activities, including bicycling, hiking, and bird-watching, and runs three youth hostels in Washington, Harper's Ferry, West Virginia, and Baltimore. It is affiliated with Hostelling International and Hostelling International USA (formerly American Youth Hostels (AYH)). Justin Cline founded the Potomac Area Council in 1943 as an offshoot of the international hostelling movement. In the 1950s it was active in promoting trails, working with William O. Douglas to preserve the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal (see C&O Canal Association records, MS2027). PAC's main hostel, as well as its headquarters, is currently located at 11th and K Streets, NW, in Washington. PAC has published several newsletters and brochures, as well as hiking and bicycling guides. Don Messersmith, a professor of Entomology and Ornithology at the University of Maryland, has been involved with PAC since 1950 and as the donor, he is the most prominently featured individual in the collection.