A Playhouse and Fun Times Along Dewey Avenue

Frank Roehm, a local general contractor, was the grandfather to Barbara and Dorothy Schweiters of 6076 Dewey Avenue. In 1944, he built a beautiful playhouse for his beloved granddaughters complete with a high-pitched gabled roof, a chimney, and shutters for the windows. The small structure resembled something out of a fairy tale. The girls could invite their friends over for any number of fun scenarios. Mr Roehm custom-built a table and two benches for the interior and a picnic table for the backyard. Inside their small cottage, the girls could sit on the window box or open it and take out a toy! Dorothy's good friend Irene Spitzer, who lived nearby at 6064 Dewey Avenue, also had a playhouse although it had been previously used as a chicken coup. The girls would travel from one small "dwelling" to another.  Amazingly, Mr. Roehm's whimsy still stands on the property 72 years after he first built it.

Dorothy and Barbara Schweiters swing next to their playhouse in the summer of 1945

Dorothy Schweiters stood next to her sister, Barbara, who was dressed up for her first day of school in 1945. Behind the girls, you can see the playhouse built for them by their grandfather, Frank Roehm.  

Barbara Schweiters stood in front of the playhouse in September of 1945. The Schweiters dwelled at 6076 Dewey Avenue.

Neighborhood girls gathered in the sandbox in front of the Schweiters family playhouse in the backyard of 6076 Dewey Avenue in 1945. Pictured:  (left to right) Irene Spitzer, Lynda Ashcroft, Dorothy Schweiters, Mary Jo Harding, Barbara Schweiters

Laura, Leslie, and Debbie Davis, the great granddaughters of Frank Roehm, gathered in the playhouse in the backyard of the Schweiters home at 6076 Dewey Avenue in 1970. 

The historic images and stories are courtesy of Deedee Davis.