University of Maryland Baltimore Dental School - Mirror Yearbook (Baltimore, MD)

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MIRROR He was an unusually brilliant speaker, and seldom disappointed his hearers when he rose to address either a dental meeting or a gathering of friends after dinner. But it was aside from his professional life that the real man was revealed. His devotion to his family, his loyalty to his friends, his love of nature and ani- mals, are traits of character that endeared him to everyone. Everything beautiful in nature attracted him. Roses and peonies were his hobby, and dogs and hunting snd golf were his recreation. His article published in the Dental Cosmos for July. 1907. gives one some idea of this trait of his character. The title of the paper is Recreation for the Dentist. ' ' It contains much good advice and warns the busy dentist of the absolute necessity of rest and play. In it he said : Let him make friends with the kindly forest — study it. know its members by name and visit them often ; watch the unfolding leaves in spring and bask under their leaf} spread in summer. Get some part of their mysterious life-growth and helpful beauty ; find out their secrets and the secrets of their companions. Van Dyke says : ' There are three vines that belong to the ancient forest. One of them is adorned with white pearls, sprinkled lightly over its robe of green. This is the Snowberrv. and if you eat of it you will grow wise in the wisdom of flowers. You will know where to find the yellow violet, the wake-robin and the pink lady- slipper, the scarlet sage and the fringed gentian. You will understand how the busy hands of nature are ever weaving the beautiful garments of life out of the strands of death. Another of the vines of the forest is called the Partridge berry. Rubies are hidden among its foliage, and if you eat of this fruit you will grow wise in the wisdom of birds. You will know where the oven-bird hides her nest and where the woodcock dances in the air at night. You will catch the note of the silver flute of the wood-thrush and the silver harp of the veery and the bells of the hermit. The bluebirds, the robins and the song sparrow will make merry for you. and you will understand a secret for which man has never found a word, thf secret that tells itself in a song. The third of the forest vines is Woodmagic. It bears neither flower nor fruit. Its leaves are hardly to be distinguished from the leaves of other vines. But if you eat of them the enchantment of the tree-land will enter your heart and the charm of the wildwood will flow through your veins. On beds of silken softness you will long tor the sleep-song of whispering leaves above your head and the smell of a couch of balsam boughs. At tables spread with dainty fare you will hunger for the joy of the hunt and for the angler ' s sylvan feast. ' ' Truly. Dr. Smith had eaten of the fruit of the forest-vines, for his heart was filled with the love of nature, and the chrrms of the wild-wood flowed through his veins. B. Holly Smith was born in Prince George County. Maryland. March 17 1858. He was one of five brothers, sons of the Reverend Bennett H. Smith, a Methodist preacher, and [Matilda Janney. of a Quaker family, from Loudoun ' ounty, Yirginia. As was usual in these days with Methodist preachers, M r Smith was frequently transferred from station to station, living at one time in Maryland, at another in Yirginia. perhaps the greater part being spent on the southern side of the Potomac River. Holly happened to be born in Maryland, at a time when the country was torn asunder bv the overshadowing events leading up to the Civil War. He grew into boyhood during these troublous times, amia

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SS MI S6 llllllllllllllflllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll l[lll[llll[[IITIIIll[IIIMIIlllUIIIIMIUII!lllllllirtlt (This fjoliuitc ts affectumateljj uc0traitn to the meraorp of •a •professor la, Molly jSnuttit llllltllllHIIllllllllllllIlllllllllIlllIlllllllllllllllIIIIIlllllllllllllllllllllIIIIllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllMIII) MAX whose name is known throughout this country, and indeed in even - land where the profession of dentistry is practiced. By his many years of service as a teacher, and by his arduous labor and self- sacrifice in the interest of his profession, he had established a circle of loyal friends from the Atlantic to the Pacific. His was a busy life. Many a professional man with such an active and full practice as he attained would have been content so to live and die, but not Dr. Smith. He was so filled with robust manhood and energy, with love of nature and his fellow-man, that he overflowed the bounds of professional life, and his energies found work to do and pleasures to enjoy in many directions outside of his daily work. In this manner he developed his many talents and presented to his friends new phases of character, which, like flashes from a brilliant stone, each seemed brighter than the other. As a teacher, those of the class who have had the privilege of sitting under him, those former students who have graduated and gone forth, know the devotion and interest he took in his work. Few teachers ever got closer to their students :han Dr. Smith. He was so human, so easily approached, and withal so lovable, that the influence he exerted on the students of the Baltimore College of Dental Surgery will live forever. As a dentist, he was known as a skillful and rapid operator, quick and sure m diagnosis. Natural and sympathetic in manner, he soon gained not only the confidence of his patients, but their esteem and friendship. In his relations to his fellow-practitioner he was always generous and ethical. As a worker for the advancement of the dental profession he had no peer. Xo one ever gave more of life, no member of the profession ever made greater personal sacrifices for the uplift and betterment of dentistry, than Dr. Smith. He went into the work in his usual whole-hearted manner. Wherever there was a fight for dentistry, whether it was in a State association, a national convention, or a State Board or faculty meeting, he was always in the thick of it. That he might the better fight its battles, he accepted and filled with honor all the highest offices the profession could bestow upon him. As a writer on dental subjects Dr. Smith was equally well known. The many articles from his pen that have appeared in professional journals during the past thirty years testify to his knowledge and treatment of both dental and educational subjects. Five

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MIRPO£ the strife and privation? of the border lite. His boyish mind eagerly espoused the ause of Dixie, and he grew into manhood with a great love and loyalty for the Southland. Early in life he came to Baltimore, practically without a penny, but with a determination and an ambition to succeed in life. Xo service was too humble nor work too hard, so long as it carried him forward to greater things. At one time he owned a newspaper route, delivering papers from three o ' clock A. M.. winter and summer. Following this he was a conductor on a street car at the time when there were only the old-fashioned horsecars. Many were the humorous stories he used to relate of his experiences during this period. All this while he attended night schools, rounding out an education he had begun in the public schools and in Loudoun Academy in Virginia. In 1879 he began the stud} of dentistry in the Baltimore College of Dental Surgery, graduating March. 1881. The following winter he studied medicine, and received his degree from the College of Physicians and Surgeons in 1882. and was immediately appointed demonstrator in his Alma Mater. He was elected Lecturer in 1889. and in 1891 was made full Professor of Operative Dentistry, which chair he held at the time of his death, being also President of the Faculty. At various times he had been President of the Maryland State Dental Asso- ciation. The Southern Dental Association. The Xational Dental Association (which he helped to found). The Xational Association of Dental Faculties, Chairman of the Executive Board of the same, a member of the Dental Educational Council of America. Fellow of the American Academy of Dental Sciences, and a member of the Federation Dentaire International. In June. 1883. Dr. Smith married Miss Frances Gist Hopkins of Baltimore, who survives him. with four sons. He died at his home in Baltimore. Tanuary 22. 1920. Xo one could wish for a happier or a more peaceful death, a fitting end for so full a life. Like the noble Roman that he was. he died with his harness on, having met his class at the usual hour the evening before. When one reviews the life of Dr. Smith and realizes the grit and determina- tion with which he fought its battles, one knows the truth of the words. Peace hath her victories no less renowned than war. Xo soldier of France ever died a nobler death or followed duty with a truer devotion. Fortunate indeed are you who have known him. His name is written large on the pages of the history of our Alma Mater, and his memory will live and his influence be felt wherever the profession of dentistry is known. Geo. E. Hakdy. M.D.. D.D.S. - «( Sere