LADIES' GALLERY

Viola Romans began her political involvement with the Women's Christian Temperance Union of Columbus. She had attended Muskingum College and Olney College, and later became a member of Muskingum College's faculty as a professor of public speaking. Still later she taught at Wesleyan College for Women. Her skills at public speaking and teaching brought her into contact with many opportunities and organizations. She worked with the Lyceum and Chautauqua bureaus. She had been president of the Woman's Republican Club of Ohio when she was nominated and elected to the Ohio House of Representatives in 1924.

Romans was the first woman to represent Franklin County in the Ohio House of Representatives. Like many of the first woman legislators of her time, she was often asked about the significance of her views of women occupying a traditionally male occupation. In a 1925 speech, she stated, "In speaking about newness of women in politics I have never understood a time when women were not active ... women have blazed paths, and led the way toward higher ideals, and larger liberties, and great achievements." She believed that women had long proven their worth in society and that more doors needed to be opened for women's full potential to be realized.