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

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r MIR o erty was given the sobriquet of Finney ' s baby. ' Dr. Finney ' s resignation was a matter of deep regret to the Faculty and student body alike, but it is a matter of great joy to record that he still abides, that he retains the vigor of youth, and that the Faculty has retained his interest and availed themselves of the fruits of his long experience, his keen insight and his ripe judgment in his election to the Emeritus Professorship of Prosthetic Dentistry. It becomes now your historian ' s inexpressibly sad duty to record the passing on January 22 of the present year of Professor B. Holly Smith, whose loss is ir- reparable not only to the Faculty and students of this institution, but to the profes- sion and the cause of dentistry the world oven He was one of the outstanding world figures in dentistry. His name was a password into the best dental circles wherever the profession is known. He was one of the most magnetic of men. of gracious manner, full of the Poetry of Life, a well-spring of humor, a brilliant speaker, a rare story-teller, a delightful companion, a staunch friend. If time suf- ficed, many delightful stories could be told of him, but. as a matter of fact, who needs to be told anything of Dr. B. Holly Smith? Everybody knew him and every- body loved him. The dental profession and the day in which he lived are the richer for his living and the poorer for his passing. His was a rare personality, and we shall not soon see his like again. It is scarcely a cheerful thought that the resignation of Dr. Finney and Dr. Smith ' s passing removed the last members of the Faculty whose names were signed to your historian ' s diploma. Verily, the old order changeth ! The remaining members of the Faculty are graduates of this school and have been connected with it in the various capacities of demonstrator, lecturer and pro- tessor since their respective graduations — Professor Hardy in 1888 and Professor Hoffmeister in 1894. Their incumbency, their several abilities, their characters and personalities, being matters of current history, need no enlarging upon here. So, also, in reference to the long list of professors, lecturers, demonstrators and assistants who complete the teaching staff, whose names appear elsewhere in this book and who represent the best in dental instruction in their respective branches. Much more might be written, many anecdotes told, many incidents related, and much of interest and instruction recorded, but space does not suffice nor occa- sion warrant more extended detail. But what is here set down is written not mereiy for entertainment, but for instruction and in the hope that this revelation T enlv-six

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MIRgQfe I T. Kennedy of Massachusetts crystallized the sentiment of the entire student body when he rubbed his hands together and exclaimed in paraphrase of the long- used slogan. The Baltimore College of Dental Surgery — the oldest and for many vears the coldest Dental College in the world ! Those days happily are passed, but the humorous paraphrase did duty and maybe helped to keep the fires burning brighter — who knows — as long as the school remained in the old building. When the United States engaged in the late war many graduates of this school entered the service in the dental dpartment of the army, and many of the students here were members of the Student Army Training Corps. Dr. B. Lucien Brun, B. C. D. S. 1905, went abroad with the Johns Hopkins unit at the very beginning of the participation of the United States in hostilities, and was the first American dentist in the field. He was one of only two dentists in the active service abroad to rise to the rank of Major — the reward of sheer merit — an honor alike ! o his College and to his country. It is a matter of great pride, too, to every lover of this Mother of Dental Colleges that two of her graduates, Dr. John R. Ames, 1905. and Dr. Frank L. K. Laflamme, 1907, who had been connected with the dental service of the regular army for many years, each rose rapidly after our entrance into the war from the rank of Lieutenant to that of Lieutenant-Colonel, and were two of the most im- portant men on the staff of Colonel Logan, who became the head of the entire department, rendering him great assistance in the huge task of organizing the large and efficient dental corps that performed such faithful service to the men in camp •and in the field, at home and abroad. Time and space do not suffice to speak of many men, events and achievements that are of great interest and importance, but this narrative cannot properly be closed without recording two recent occurrences. In the autumn of 1918 Prof. William B. Finney, after more than thirty years in the Chair of Prosthetic Dentistry, resigned his professorship and severed his active connection with the school. Thus passed from the field a man of wide influence, of mature judgment and unbounded zeal and energy, and one whose interest in everything pertaining to the welfare of the College and of the students, individually and collectively, were amongst the very chiefest of his concerns. Perhaps no other single influence was so potent in the purchase, adaptation and equipment of the present home of the College. From the inception to the completion of the transaction it was his obsession — so much so that the new prop- Trventp-five

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t$SO50?5q of the character and the achievements of those who have gone before and of some who still abide may inspire its to greater virtues, to increased zeal and effort, to sacrifice if need be, and to a deeper appreciation of the importance of the profes- sion upon which we have entered and the opportunity it gives us to serve humanity and fulfill the real mission of life. Every history is its own prophecy. So lives the Baltimore College of Dental Surgery and so it shall continue to live, not as so much bricks and mortar and dental equipment, but as a tradition enshrined in the hearts of thousands who have passed and shall yet pass through her portals, to whom she is and shall be Alma Mater ; in her influence upon the minds of other thousands from her sister colleges who owe their being to her inspiration and their character to her leader- ship ; and in the physical blessing to the millions who have come and are yet to come under the ministrations of those thousands who have espoused and will espouse this noble profession, born of her travail and nurtured at her bosom. Humanity knows no relationship so dear nor the language a word so sweet as that in which we express it — Mother. May God continue to bless the Baltimore College of Dental Surgery — the Mother of our profession ! [Acknowledgment for certain data is hereby made to a reprint from Volume III of the Transactions of the Fourth International Dental Congress, entitled History of the Baltimore College of Dental Surgery by Professor William Simon, and to the catalogue of the College.] Twenty-seven