When Pleasant Grove City Councilwoman Mary West isn't working on city business, she can be found quilting, making crafts and saving the Bonneville Salt Flats.
West's diversity of talent and hobbies is seen in her activities over the past four decades. In the 1950s and '60s, she and her husband, Don West, spent many hours drag racing. It was shortly after their marriage in 1949 that they began racing in a '32 Coupe."I even went faster than my husband in the first races," West said. "I like people - and I like speed."
That's obvious. By the mid-1960s, West was speedboat racing. From 1969 to 1972, she was the only woman in the United States racing E-class speedboats; she was third fastest in the nation.
The Wests' drag-racing days ended about that same time. But neither could stop working with cars, so they started land-speed racing at the Bonneville Salt Flats. Currently, West is involved with the "Save the Salt Flats" campaign.
West says she never felt uncomfortable being the only woman at many of the events. When she was a participant, she was treated with respect.
"The guys had a great deal of respect for me," she said. "They would let me lead the pace lap, but when the gun went off, it was every man for himself."
Although she doesn't race any more, West still goes to the Salt Flats and continues to be a part of the organizing arm of racing. She includes among her racing friends driver Bobby Unser.
When West slows down - which is rare - she knits, crochets, paints and quilts. Her home is decorated with several quilts she has designed. She loves working with young women and each month makes some new craft to give them. She's also involved with the Garden Club.
Next to her husband, West's first love is her work on the City Council. For several years she served on the Planning and Zoning Commission and has worked hard to see many of the city's projects to fruition.
K.A. Driggs, Pleasant Grove city finance director, said of West, "I think she's a remarkable woman. The diversity of that gal is really something, and she has an extreme devotion to her job."
She is most proud of her work on the recent annexations of the Manila area in the north and the southwestern parts of the city. She says she is looking toward the day when the Pleasant Grove freeway interchange is completed.
"If I live long enough to drive onto that entrance, I will feel like I've accomplished something," West said.