[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 54 (Wednesday, March 28, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E675]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          IN RECOGNITION OF THE 90TH BIRTHDAY OF PEARL RICHTER

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. MARCY KAPTUR

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, March 28, 2007

  Ms. KAPTUR. Madam Speaker, it is with great pleasure and honor that I 
congratulate Mrs. Pearl Marcus Richter of Toledo, Ohio, on the occasion 
of her forthcoming 90th birthday. Pearl will be celebrating this 
milestone event with family members, including two grandchildren, who 
will be gathering this weekend in the Washington, DC area where Pearl's 
daughter and son have each settled.
  Pearl was born on April 6, 1917, in Indianapolis, Indiana, to 
immigrant parents (like so many other fine Americans) on that momentous 
day in history during which Congress declared war against Germany and 
the United States entered the conflict in Europe that became World War 
I. Her mother was ill during most of her childhood and Pearl was always 
a great help in the home. Pearl graduated from Shortridge High School 
in Indianapolis in 1934 at the age of 17. By then, her mother had 
passed away, leaving Pearl to be the female head of a household that 
included her father and one older and one younger brother. In 1940, 
life changed dramatically for Pearl. She met Morris A. Richter in 
February, it was love at first sight, and in May they married and moved 
to Terre Haute, Indiana, where Morris worked.
  For nearly 15 months, December 1944-February 1946, Pearl was at home 
alone to care for a daughter, born in 1940, and a son, born in 1944, 
while Morris served in the American Area Campaign of the U.S. Navy. 
Both children share the same birthday, July 18, and Pearl always jokes 
that it was because her husband was an accountant. In the summer of 
1958, the Richter family moved to Toledo, Ohio, where Morris had taken 
a job with the federal government, and into a house on Cheltenham Road 
in the Old Orchard district. Daughter Ceceile Kay graduated from the 
University of Toledo in 1963 and son Sheldon Jay graduated from Ohio 
State University in 1967. Pearl was at both graduations but 
unfortunately Morris was not; he had died of a heart attack in October 
1961, just weeks after his 46th birthday. Pearl went to work soon 
afterwards as a sales clerk with Petrie Stores and had worked her way 
up to assistant manager before she retired.
  Pearl has always been active in her synagogues and taught Sunday 
School in both Terre Haute and Toledo. In Toledo, she is a member of 
B'nai Israel Synagogue and its Sisterhood and its Synagogue Organized 
Afternoon Program. She is also an active member and was an officer for 
several years in the Friendship Club, one of many activities she enjoys 
through the Jewish Family Services Senior Adult Center. Pearl lived in 
Kenwood Gardens for over 35 years and since late 2001 has enjoyed 
living at Carriage House East where she is regular caller at monthly 
bingo and a semi-regular in an informal poker club in which she is one 
of the youngest members. Pearl's favorite activity besides working 
crossword puzzles is mah jongg, and she plays as frequently as she can. 
She is a member of the National Mah Jongg League, having joined soon 
after its inception in 1937, and she is always the first in her groups 
to learn the rules changes each year.
  Even more so than any of the above, her family and friends know Pearl 
as a favorite baker. Pearl used to bake almost every day and most of 
this she would give away. Now she has cut her baking back to a few 
times a month. A visitor to her home is always served a cup of steaming 
hot coffee or, perhaps, fresh-squeezed lemonade or limeade, and a baked 
dessert. If something fresh is not on the counter, her visitors need 
not worry. There are always tins of baked goods in her freezer. Her 
family has been wishing for some time that Pearl would move to the 
Washington, DC area where one of the pleasures, besides her company, 
will be the ritual of opening her freezer to see what baked goods are 
inside. Pearl has always been generous about sharing her recipes. 
Family members and close friend Bea Goldman have now sent copies of 
these recipes to Pearl's daughter, who will be combining them with 
recipes in her collection and from her memory into a recipe book to be 
provided to guests after the dinner in honor of Pearl's birthday.
  I join with Pearl's family and friends in wishing her a most joyous 
birthday, spent looking back in fond recollection and looking forward 
to future years. Congratulations and best wishes!

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