Madeline Leonia "Mae" Pullen, a longtime Harlem Park-Lafayette Square activist who fought for senior housing options and public safety, health and education issues for residents, died Oct. 7 in her sleep at Caton Manor Nursing Home.
She was 90.
The daughter of a carpenter and a homemaker, Madeline Leonia Brown was born in Sparrows Point and raised on Carey Street.
She was a 1938 graduate of Frederick Douglass High School, and the next year married her high school sweetheart, Francis Pullen Sr., who later became a U.S. Post Office supervisor.
He died in 2001.
The couple lived on Reservoir Hill before moving to a home at Harlem and Carrollton avenues in 1958.
In 1952, Mrs. Pullen was the first African-American to work as a marketing representative in Maryland for the Carnation Milk Co., where she promoted the company's products in stores, schools and churches.
A 1955 article in the Afro-American described Mrs. Pullen as "Carnation Milk's popular milk specialist."
"Where there were gatherings in inner-city supermarkets or other events, she'd be there promoting their milk," said a son, Hasker M. "Mike" Pullen of Sandersville, Ga.
After leaving Carnation in 1961, she managed the Franklin Simon clothing store in Mondawmin Mill until 1975.
"While she was a pioneer in transcending the glass ceiling of race and gender for the companies where she was employed, her proudest accomplishments came as a result of her work in the community," said Julian A. Jackson, a grandson who is a student at Howard University School of Law.
In the late 1950s, Mrs. Pullen served as president of the Baltimore Urban League Guild and later was a founder and first president of the Harlem Park-Lafayette Square Community Association in 1965.
"She was the mayor of her neighborhood and people always turned to her whenever there was a need, and when there was a need, she certainly knew how to rattle the cage at City Hall," former Baltimore Mayor Kurt L. Schmoke said with a laugh.
"She was conscientious and got things done. Dealing with Mae was like dealing with an older relative. If she didn't get the answer she wanted, she gave you that look," Mr. Schmoke said.
"Mama was the type of woman who always told it straight; however, she was never disrespectful. She never escalated the situation. She just didn't take any stuff," said her son.
"She was not vocal in a disagreeable way or never resorted to name calling. She did like dropping bombs at City Hall," her son said. "It wasn't abnormal for Mayor [ William Donald] Schaefer to call her at home after hours."
Her son said that Mrs. Pullen wasn't afraid to walk out of meetings with elected officials.
"She'd pack up her stuff and say, 'I'll see you at election time,'" he said with a laugh.
Carmena Watson, who was also a co-founder of the association, had been a friend for more than 50 years.
"I knew Mae ever since she moved to Harlem Park," Mrs. Watson said.
"She took leadership here when there wasn't any. Everybody went to Mae Pullen," Mrs. Watson said. "She was the person they went to when they needed help with any type of assistance or problem, and she never turned anyone down or away."
Whatever the matter, Mrs. Watson added, Mrs. Pullen made sure what was done was done right.
Mrs. Pullen would travel to Annapolis to lobby legislators for better housing options for senior citizens. Health, education and public safety issues were also the focus of her community activism.
She was an avid proponent of the city's dollar house program in the 1970s, which allowed a buyer to purchase a house for a dollar and then restore it through sweat equity and promise to live in it.
"She was a huge supporter of education. When we were growing up and came home from school, we were to do our homework right away and there was no fooling around about that," Mr. Pullen said.
"She also worked hard in helping inner-city kids get jobs and helping people to realize their potential," he said.
Mrs. Pullen was also politically active and worked on the campaigns of Mr. Schmoke, Clarence H. "Du" Burns, Parren Mitchell and Barbara Mikulski.
Mrs. Pullen's community activism was recognized by Maryland governors, Baltimore mayors and President Ronald W. Reagan. She was presented an honorary doctorate degree that was conferred jointly by Morgan State University and Coppin State University.
Mrs. Pullen's work was brought to an end by a stroke in 1991.
"Unfortunately, her mobility was limited and her speech curtailed," her grandson said. "It inhibited her doing what she had done for so long."
Services were Thursday.
Also surviving are two other sons, Francis Pullen II and William Pullen, both of Baltimore; eight other grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren. Her daughter, Carolyn A. Corbin, died in 2000.