DRAPER — A Draper resident for nearly 82 years, Velora Sorensen Whetman is as much a part of Draper as the city is a part of her.
Long before IKEA announced plans to build or hang gliders flew off the Point of the Mountain, Whetman called Draper home. In fact, her ancestors — Danish LDS pioneers — were among the city's early settlers.
It's fitting, then, that the 1890s pioneer home she grew up in has been restored in the heart of Draper as the Sorensen Home Museum, 12597 S. 900 East — a place to savor Draper's history.
"I never ever dreamed it would be preserved," Whetman said. The home is slightly different now with bathrooms added at the back and the only bedroom turned into a candy store. "But it's still a thrill to go over there."
She volunteers at the museum occasionally — cleaning, selling candy and sharing stories with longtime residents and newcomers alike.
"I just love Draper," she said, adding quickly, "and I don't resent the new people. I just want to know them. When I grew up, I knew everybody's kids." Things were quieter and smaller back then. She remembers attending the old Park School and playing baseball behind her home.
When she and her husband, Phill, who grew up down the road in what is now Food For Thought, located at 12640 Fort Street, got married, they invited everyone in town, she said. There were fewer than 1,500 residents then.
Phill, who owned Whetman Ford, helped establish the community's first bank, Draper Bank and Trust, so that farmers wouldn't have to travel all the way to Sandy to get a loan.
"My grandma always said Salt Lake City would spread to the Point of the Mountain, and it has," Whetman said. "I never expected (the growth) in Draper."
Despite the city's constantly changing face, she's involved herself — supporting the PTA, the Draper Arts Council, Daughters of the Utah Pioneers, the Lions Club and the American Legion Auxiliary.
"When you live in Draper and it's small like that, you get involved with everything," she said. "Draper is my home; it's just part of my life."
Even now, Whetman keeps busy cutting clippings about Draper from both the Deseret Morning News and The Salt Lake Tribune and compiling them in scrapbooks for the city. It's a tradition she began more than 20 years ago, and one that has expanded along with Draper. She put together four scrapbooks for Draper in 2005 alone.
In spite of everything she does, Whetman is an unassuming lady who doesn't like the spotlight, said her daughter, Venna Rice, a Draper resident.
"She's one of those solid people where service and giving are a way of life," Rice said. "She doesn't think she's anything special because to her, that's just what you do."
Countless neighbors and friends have received clothing items that Whetman has sewn or crocheted.
"She was always in the know and aware of people," agreed Valerie Terry, a daughter who lives in Holladay. "Mom is someone that anyone could go to if they had a problem. Our friends all called her Mom."
On top of caring for others, she's always been there for her own four daughters, 13 grandchildren and soon-to-be 13 great-grandchildren, Terry said. She's always been one of the kids at the party, even standing on her head to get a laugh.
Like the old Sorensen home, Whetman has made her home a gathering place. It was always the open door policy, anyone was welcome, Rice said. She could make a friend out of anybody and often does, especially while traveling, which she does extensively.
Regardless of where she goes, Whetman said she's always glad to come back home to Draper and the mountains. There's no where quite like it.
E-mail: sbills@desnews.com