Waldemar ‘Wally’ Jorgensen: 1/2 Century Resident

Waldemar and Fredrikke Jorgensen: A Farm, a Family, and a Legacy in Granger

Waldemar “Wally” Jorgensen and his wife Fredrikke Andersen were among the families who helped shape Granger during its transition from farmland to neighborhoods. Their home and farm were located at 2802 West 3500 South, on land where Waldemar once held large tracts of property before selling most of it off to be subdivided into homes. Even after selling, he retained a piece of ground where he continued to raise livestock and cultivate a large vegetable garden.

The Jorgensen property was a familiar sight to neighbors and friends. Rows of potatoes, corn, peas, carrots, rhubarb, and parsley grew in the garden, while chickens, pigs, a cow, and occasionally a few lambs filled the outbuildings and pens. Children and grandchildren spent many hours planting seeds, gathering eggs, harvesting vegetables, or playing hide-and-seek in the tall corn. The cellar out behind the garage was always stocked with bottled fruit and vegetables, a testament to the family’s self-reliance.

The home itself was a gathering place, not just for the Jorgensens’ eight children, but also for grandchildren, cousins, and neighbors. Big family breakfasts around the table were a tradition, and summer evenings often found the yard filled with children playing tag, “Red Rover,” or “Annie, Annie Over,” sometimes using the traffic light on 3500 South as part of their games. Roller skating on the long driveway was a favorite pastime, while the haystack, sheep shed, and even the pigpen became part of the grandchildren’s adventures.

Fredrikke, though plagued by painful rheumatoid arthritis, was remembered as gentle and patient, often sitting near the wall furnace with her legs wrapped in warm towels while visiting with her grandchildren. Waldemar, tall and steady with an anchor tattoo on his arm, was known as a kind and mellow man who never seemed to lose his temper. He raised two of his grandchildren in addition to his own children and delighted in giving each grandchild a dollar bill on their birthday.

Neighbors and extended family alike knew the Jorgensen home as a place of warmth and welcome. The small farmstead stood as a reminder of Granger’s agricultural roots, even as houses, schools, and businesses grew up around it. Waldemar passed away in 1965 and Fredrikke in 1960, but the land they worked, the homes they built, and the family they nurtured remain part of the living history of West Valley City.

The Jorgensen's home was built about 1920. They lived in the area over 50 years