MUSKOGEE -- A house may seem like a strange choice for a Valentine, but students and neighbors say an historic home is in need of lots of love.
My'Unique Jolly and two other junior high school students made colorful Valentine's Day cards to place on the home that belonged to Alice Robertson, whom their school is named after.
"I thought it was respectful to come and put 'heart bombs' on her house," Jolly said.
Neighbors are working to save the historic home so that it can become a museum commemorating Robertson's many accomplishments.
"So much of her history's been lost," Jonita Mullins said. "There's not really a monument to her anywhere, and she was an amazing woman."
Mullins is a board member of the Founders Place Historical District, which bought the rundown home several years ago and has been collecting money ever since to fund a full renovation.
Mullins said Robertson broke many glass ceilings during her lifetime, including becoming the first woman in Oklahoma elected to Congress in 1921.
"She was one of the first women to work for the Bureau of Indian Affairs in Washington," Mullins said. "She was the first woman to serve as superintendent of schools for the Creek Nation. She was the first woman appointed to serve as a postmaster for a class A post office here in Muskogee, and she was the first woman from Oklahoma to serve in Congress."
Mullins noted that only one other woman has served Oklahoma in the U.S. House of Representatives since Robertson left office in 1923, and that was Mary Fallin before she became governor.
Neighbors are now asking others to donate time and money to help complete the restoration of Robertson's home.
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