[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 6]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 8229-8230]
[From the U.S. 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

                        Tuesday, March 27, 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 U.S. 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. In 1936, her mother passed away, 
leaving Pearl to be the female head of a household that included her 
father and one older and one younger brother. In 1941, 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 1941, 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

[[Page 8230]]

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 a 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 lemon or lime ade, 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!

                          ____________________