Picture this: a young high-school teacher typing away in his New York City apartment, compiling a list of fellow teachers who had expressed interest in exchanging their homes during the coming summer vacation. Copies of this list would be mailed to all the participants, who would then contact each other to arrange home exchanges in New York and adjoining states. Word spread quickly amongst the educators, and soon the lists became booklets that gained more and more weight every spring.
David Ostroff was the teacher, and 1953 the year he put his concept into practice. Like many people, he had already enjoyed exchanging his home with colleagues and relatives during various vacation periods. He was aware that home-exchanging had been a long-practised social activity, quite popular even in the middle ages.
In 1960 David formalized his enterprise, establishing Vacation Exchange Club Inc., which by then had extended its domain to include members, primarily teachers, throughout North America, Europe and United Kingdom. Unaware of David's service, a young lady named Jan Ryder was now offering a similar one in the UK, primarily to members in the armed forces (her husband was an RAF officer). Within a short time their paths crossed and they elected to collaborate by pooling their resources to lay the foundation for the world-renowned international organization that we know today as HomeLink International.
