The House and Greenhouses
Located at 1805 Gratiot Ave, Saginaw, this family dwelling, in which Roethke grew up, has been the setting of many his celebrated poems including My Papa's Waltz, mentioned earlier. The house is now a historic site and a museum.
Artifacts belonging to the the poet and his family are preserved in the house-museum. They include his writing desk, bed, piano, and the original fireplace.
The third image is that of the back porch on the second floor of the house. This is where the magic happened! Roethke wrote many of his poems sitting on this back porch looking at the surrounding greenhouses.
A photograph of one of the greenhouses belonging to the Roethke family. It gives an idea of the beautiful and idyllic surrounding in which the poet grew up.
The second photograph features a truck of the floral company in which the Roethkes delivered flowers to their customers. This floral company was the main source of living for both families, Otto's and Uncle Karl's.