Remembering Marciene Mattleman

When you wear a carnation this Mother’s Day, think fondly of the late Marciene Mattleman, Philadelphia educator and social entrepreneur, who wrote the book on how the city can help kids succeed. 

Marciene passed away on March 29, 2019, at the age of 89. Her legacy lives on and joins a continuum of brilliant and powerful public mothers who helped shape the region, a history that connects directly to the origins of Mother’s Day itself.

These days, thanks to Hallmark, it’s hard to separate the tackiness from the sentiment behind Mother’s Day. But when she first established the holiday in 1908, the tackiness, the “burdensome, wasteful, expensive gift-day” was the furthest thing from Anna Jarvis’ mind.

Anna was inspired by her mother, Ann Reeves Jarvis, a social activist and organizer during the Civil War era. When the elder Jarvis observed that children were dying because their mothers could not care for their basic health care needs, she formed Mother’s Day Work Clubs in 1858 (while pregnant with her 6th child) to teach women basic health information to stem the child mortality rate. 

Anna, who adopted Philadelphia as her hometown, watched the diminishing respect that “mothering” was weathering as women entered the labor force and became leaders in other professions. 

Her goal was not to erase women from the workplace. Instead, she felt compelled to get the message out that that women, as the bearers of children and the best advocates for their needs, were the leading voices our nation needed to ensure our collective health and prosperity.

In 1904, Anna started tirelessly canvassing influential leaders state by state, which resulted in the commemoration of a regional Mother’s Day in 1908 in Philadelphia. By 1911, nearly every state had declared an official Mother’s Day but Anna did not relent in this push until 1914 when President Wilson declared Mother’s Day a national holiday, stressing that mothers are “the greatest source of the country’s strength and inspiration.”

We don’t know if Marciene Mattleman knew of Ann’s legacy, but there’s surely kinship in their tenacity and drive—the kind of determination that could install a national holiday. From the moment that Marciene realized that more could be done to make sure every child became a great reader, she set out to become a teacher, a professor, and the creator of four amazingly successful child-serving non-profit organizations. 

Marciene made child and adult literacy THE cause of this city and that legacy lives on today in the groundbreaking work of the Philadelphia READ by 4th campaign. Thanks to Marciene, Philadelphia is the only major city in the nation where the share of children entering 4th grade, reading on grade level, is rising.

Joe Torsella, state Treasurer and close friend of Marciene’s, hailed her “relentless compassion” and immeasurable impact in 2015.

“She is the one person who through sheer force of will can change an entire city, as Marciene did with adult literacy,” Torsella said.

“No one in this city,” said Gov. Ed Rendell, “has done more for the schoolchildren of Philadelphia and our region than Marciene Mattleman.”

From Mayor Green to Mayor Kenny, Marciene was a trusted advisor and consistent presence egging them on to do more for children.

On Sunday as you give your mother a kiss, call her to check-in, or say a prayer to her if she’s passed, take an extra second to give your personal thanks to Marciene Mattleman.

We’ll conclude this week with these words from Marciene, a true hallmark for mothers everywhere.

“There is an enormous satisfaction to help other people get what they want from life.”

Marciene Mattleman