Pearl Neumann, long time resident of Manitou Road in Spencerport, celebrated her 100th birthday on September 24, 2022.
Pearl lived on Manitou Road since she was nine years old. She worked with her mom and uncles on the farm, helped pick produce for the Farmer’s Market, walked to a two room school house at the corner of Manitou Road and Route 104 next to the cemetery, and attended Spencerport High School. She worked in the dark rooms at Eastman Kodak Company, where she met her husband Clifford. After Cliff came back from WWII, they were married in June 1946 at Concord Lutheran Church that was on the southwest corner of Route 104 and Manitou Road.
Pearl and Cliff built a little 20’ by 20’ house just a few houses down from where she grew up, then built the present day house after their second child was born. Pearl lived there with her dog, cat, and bird up until her care needed to be upgraded in 2021.
Through the years Pearl and Cliff had a busy life. They owned Cooper Delicatessen at Cooper and Titus Avenue in Irondequoit until the mid-1950s when Pearl stayed home to care for the family. They started a 4-H club, the Manitou Indians, and were leaders for more than 10 years.
Pearl joined the Spencerport Ambulance, became an EMT instructor, and taught classes to doctors, nurses, fellow ambulance volunteers, and emergency responders. She rode on many emergency calls, enduring some awful fatalities in accidents and rescuing many others from car and farm accidents.
In later years, she joined the Coast Guard Auxiliary, Flotilla 4-8 out of Hamlin. She taught safe boating and was a representative for the Coast Guard Academy, visiting high schools and college fairs.
Pearl is well loved by family and friends and her sense of humor keeps people laughing. She always has a song to go with any occasion and freely says just what she thinks. Her favorite saying is, “Stand on your own two feet!”
Happy 100th Birthday, Pearl.
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