The Story Behind The Philip Smith Hall
By Susan Mogil
Rabbi Feinberg, Fannie and Philip Smith, and grandson Russell Smith,1961
Temple members will remember the large Congregational Hall on the lower level as the “The Philip Smith Hall “ when the Education wing was built in 1961.
Behind this name is a remarkable story of a young man (Philip Smith) born in 1884 in Poland who immigrated to Canada in 1907 by himself, married Fannie Sittsamer, and built, with the help of his five sons, an international transportation company, Smith Transport. At its peak in the 1950s, it was the largest Canadian transportation company in the British Commonwealth. Through the years, Philip Smith was generous to many Jewish and civic causes in Canada and in particular, to Holy Blossom Temple.
Holy Blossom Temple archives has recently been gifted a large binder with the history of Philip Smith, his wife Fannie and family, and the growth of Smith Transport. It is a true labour of love of grandchildren for their grandparents.
In the introductory letter, Gail Smith Gerstein warmly thanks many of her cousins who offered memories, and, in particular, her late cousin Daryl Farber Beber for the writing and the considerable research into their family history. It is extensively illustrated with maps, family photographs, ships’, manifests, legal documents, newspaper clippings, letters from public officials, reprints from trade magazines, and lovingly created family trees. It begins with considerable detail about the historical background and the lives in Europe of both Philip and Fannie and their parents in 19th-century Poland and the Austrian-Hungarian Empire. Much of the book covers the growth of Smith Transport across Canada and the United States from its beginning in 1919 Oshawa.
With text and many photographs, the lives of Philip and Fannie and their five sons and two daughters and all their children are described. There is a family tree of photographs for each of the seven Smith children.
Happily, all the details of the May 28, 1961 inauguration of the Philip Smith Hall are included: very handsome photographs of Philip and Fannie Smith with Rabbi Abraham Feinberg; the invitation in the Temple bulletin; the Text of the Dedication ceremony led by Rabbi Feinberg, Rabbi Jacob Eisen, and Cantor Samuel Stolnitz; words of welcome and appreciation given by Holy Blossom Temple President D. Lou Harris; finishing, of course, with a tea party in the Hall.
On June 6, 2023, the extended Smith family gathered in Holy Blossom to rededicate the Hall. As the family said at this ceremony, moving with the times, they have all agreed to rename it “The Philip and Fannie Smith Congregational Hall”. Rabbi Splansky warmly welcomed the many Smith descendants, inviting them to consider Holy Blossom Temple as their extended family home. A new mezuzah was affixed to the door, and a new plaque renamed the Hall.
