Menu Expand Menu Close
Back to Top
Filter Search Expand Close Filter
Search Expand Search Close
["Ruby Abdulla, b. 1949, is an immigrant from southern India (via Canada). She was born in Madurai. Abdulla is Muslim and a member of Indias Memon community, a cultural minority. She is active with the Islamic Center in Charleston and is a skilled home cook, preparing traditional southern and northern Indian dishes."]%

1. Transcript of oral history of Ruby Abdulla

Identifier:
4224.AbdullaRuby.IntTranscript.4.13.16
Title:
Transcript of oral history of Ruby Abdulla
Date:
2016-04-13
Creator:
Abdulla, Ruby, Farah, Nariman
Contributor:
Hilliard, Emily
Subject:
foodways, Memoni language, Muslims--United States, Food habits, Islam--United States
Location:
Madurai (India), Charleston (W. Va.), Kanawha County (W. Va.)
["Master salt rising bread baker Genevieve (Jenny) Bardwell holds an A.S. in culinary arts from the Culinary Institute of America, and a B.S. and M.S. in plant pathology from the University of Massachusetts. Jenny is the co-author of Salt Rising Bread: Recipes and Heartfelt Stories of a Nearly Lost Appalachian Tradition and was the co-founder of Rising Creek Bakery in Mount Morris, Pennsylvania, both with Susan Ray Brown. Jenny has engaged in a deep, decades-long study of the unique labor-intensive Appalachian bread, focusing particularly on the scientific process and researching analog breads in other cultures. In 2017, she was awarded a Folk and Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Grant from the Pennsylvania Council of the Arts to lead a salt rising bread apprenticeship with baker Antonio Archer and in 2018, she was awarded an Folklife Apprenticeship Grant from the West Virginia Folklife Program with fellow baker Susan Ray Brown and apprentice Amy Dawson.Master salt rising bread baker Susan Ray Brown grew up in southern West Virginia, and her family roots go back nearly 300 years in her beloved Mountain State. She holds a B.A. in sociology/anthropology from West Virginia University. Susan is the co-author of Salt Rising Bread: Recipes and Heartfelt Stories of a Nearly Lost Appalachian Tradition and was the co-founder of Rising Creek Bakery in Mount Morris, PA, both with Jenny Bardwell. Susan has engaged in a deep, decades-long study of the unique labor-intensive Appalachian bread, recording oral histories, gathering recipes, conducting scientific studies, and constantly experimenting through her own baking. Find more on her website at www.saltrisingbread.net."]%

2. Transcript of oral history of Genevieve (Jenny) Bardwell and Susan Ray Brown

Identifier:
4224.BardwellJennyBrownSusan.IntTranscript.11.2.16
Title:
Transcript of oral history of Genevieve (Jenny) Bardwell and Susan Ray Brown
Date:
2016-11-02
Creator:
Bardwell, Genevieve, Brown, Susan Ray
Contributor:
Hilliard, Emily, Briggs, Mary
Subject:
foodways, Food habits, Bakers, Bread--history, Bread
Location:
Mount Morris (Pa.)
["Genevieve (Jenny) Bardwell and Susan Ray Brown of Mount Morris, Pennsylvania led an apprenticeship in salt rising bread with Amy Dawson of Lost Creek, West Virginia as part of the 2018 West Virginia Folklife Apprenticeship Program, supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts. Master salt rising bread baker Genevieve (Jenny) Bardwell holds an A.S. in culinary arts from the Culinary Institute of America, and a B.S. and M.S. in plant pathology from the University of Massachusetts. Jenny is the co-author of Salt Rising Bread: Recipes and Heartfelt Stories of a Nearly Lost Appalachian Tradition and was the co-founder of Rising Creek Bakery in Mount Morris, Pennsylvania, both with Susan Ray Brown. Jenny has engaged in a deep, decades-long study of the unique labor-intensive Appalachian bread, focusing particularly on the scientific process and researching analog breads in other cultures. In 2017, she was awarded a Folk and Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Grant from the Pennsylvania Council of the Arts to lead a salt rising bread apprenticeship with baker Antonio Archer and in 2018, she was awarded an Folklife Apprenticeship Grant from the West Virginia Folklife Program with fellow baker Susan Ray Brown and apprentice Amy Dawson.Master salt rising bread baker Susan Ray Brown grew up in southern West Virginia, and her family roots go back nearly 300 years in her beloved Mountain State. She holds a B.A. in sociology/anthropology from West Virginia University. Susan is the co-author of Salt Rising Bread: Recipes and Heartfelt Stories of a Nearly Lost Appalachian Tradition and was the co-founder of Rising Creek Bakery in Mount Morris, PA, both with Jenny Bardwell. Susan has engaged in a deep, decades-long study of the unique labor-intensive Appalachian bread, recording oral histories, gathering recipes, conducting scientific studies, and constantly experimenting through her own baking. Find more on her website at www.saltrisingbread.net.Amy Dawson is a native of Lost Creek, West Virginia. She holds a B.S. in geology from West Virginia University and a J.D. from the College of Law at West Virginia University. She manages and co-owns Lost Creek Farm with her partner Mike Costello, hosting travelling kitchen/pop-up dinner events around the greater Appalachian region. In 2018, Lost Creek Farm was featured on CNNs Parts Unknown with Anthony Bourdain.See our feature on Bardwell and Browns apprenticeship with Dawson here: https://wvfolklife.org/2018/11/12/2018-master-artists-apprentice-feature-genevieve-bardwell-susan-ray-brown-amy-dawson-salt-rising-bread/"]%

3. Transcript of oral history of Jenny Bardwell, Susan Ray Brown, and Amy Dawson

Identifier:
4224.BardwellJennyBrownSusanDawsonAmy.IntTranscript4.23.18
Title:
Transcript of oral history of Jenny Bardwell, Susan Ray Brown, and Amy Dawson
Date:
2018-04-23
Creator:
Bardwell, Genevieve, Brown, Susan Ray, Dawson, Amy
Contributor:
Hilliard, Emily
Subject:
Bakers, Bread--history, Food habits, foodways, Apprenticeship programs, Bread
Location:
Mount Morris (Pa.), Harrison County (W. Va.)
["Diane Betler was born in Pendleton County, West Virginia and came to Helvetia as a child to live with her adopted mother Margaret Koerner, an immigrant from Germany. Ms. Koerner was a skilled home cook from her Ms. Betler learned many traditional recipes. She married Kevin Betler, nephew of Eleanor Betler, and they live in the Koerner home in Helvetias Metzner Hollow where Ms. Betler was raised. She served as the principal of Pickens Elementary/High School, the public school serving children from Pickens and Helvetia. Ms. Betler makes the yeast-raised doughnuts for Helvetias Fasnacht celebration every year using Margaret Koerners recipe.This interview is part of a series of interviews conducted with foodways practitioners in Helvetia, West Virginia, as part of the Helvetia Foodways Oral History Project in partnership with the Southern Foodways Alliance. Learn more: https://www.southernfoodways.org/oral-history/helvetia-west-virginia/"]%

4. Transcript of oral history of Diane Betler

Identifier:
4224.BetlerDiane.IntTranscript.2.6.16
Title:
Transcript of oral history of Diane Betler
Date:
2016-02-06
Creator:
Betler, Diane
Contributor:
Hilliard, Emily
Subject:
Doughnuts, foodways, Food habits, Helvetia (W. Va.), Cooking, German, Carnival, Cooking, Swiss
Location:
Helvetia (W. Va.)
["Eleanor Betler was born in Buckhannon, West Virginia in 1940 and raised in Cleveland, Ohio. She spent her summers in Helvetia at the farm of her maternal grandparents, James and Anna Merkli McNeal. She married Howard Bud Betler in 1961. The couple moved to a hilltop farm in Helvetia and raised four children. All the good cooks, many of them relatives of Mr. Betler taught Mrs. Betler about canning, preserving, cooking and baking. She was especially interested to learn the skills of butchering and preserving meat, and making sausage. Mrs. Betler loves the Swiss traditional baking but also Appalachian ways of some neighbors. She grinds her own flour for baking bread. At Fasnacht time she invites neighbors and friends to make the hozablatz and rosettes just to keep the tradition alive. She also preserves this history by collecting stories, music, and photographs for The Helvetia Archives.This interview is part of a series of interviews conducted with foodways practitioners in Helvetia, West Virginia, as part of the Helvetia Foodways Oral History Project in partnership with the Southern Foodways Alliance. Learn more: https://www.southernfoodways.org/oral-history/helvetia-west-virginia/"]%

5. Transcript of oral history of Eleanor Betler

Identifier:
4224.BetlerEleanor.IntTranscript.2.5.16
Title:
Transcript of oral history of Eleanor Betler
Date:
2016-02-05
Creator:
Betler, Eleanor
Contributor:
Hilliard, Emily
Subject:
Bakers, Bread, Swine, Food habits, Helvetia (W. Va.), Hill farming, Corn bread, Beef cattle, Carnival, Canning and preserving, Wild leek, Orchards, Sheep farming, 4-H clubs, Cheesemaking, Dairy cattle, Swiss American women, foodways, Cooking, Swiss
Location:
Helvetia (W. Va.)
["Louis Lou Berry Birurakis (b. March 22, 1926) is a native of Liberty, West Virginia in Scotts Run. His parents were Greek immigrants from Crete. His father was a coal miner who was blackballed for his participation in the union and after he was fired, started a business in Scotts Run. Birurakis was a football player at WVU and is an amateur historian and a writer. In the interview, he speaks about his family, growing up in Scotts Run, and his experience on the WVU football team. He also tells a story about his mothers encounter with Eleanor Roosevelt when she visited Scotts Run.This interview is part of a collection of interviews conducted with Scotts Run natives/residents and/or members of the Scotts Run Museum."]%

6. Transcript of oral history of Louis “Lou” Berry Birurakis

Identifier:
4224.BirurakisBerryLouis.IntTranscript.2.23.19
Title:
Transcript of oral history of Louis “Lou” Berry Birurakis
Date:
2019-02-23
Creator:
Birurakis, Louis
Contributor:
Hilliard, Emily
Subject:
Greek Americans, Food habits, Labor union members, foodways, Arthurdale (W. Va.), Roosevelt, Franklin D. (Franklin Delano), 1882-1945, Bread, Football players, Teaching, Coal mines and mining, Roosevelt, Eleanor, 1884-1962, Gardening, Cooking, Greek, Scott's Run (W. Va.)
Location:
Scott's Run (W. Va.)
["Kent Brayec, 53, is a Croatian musician and resident of Bethlehem, WV outside of Wheeling. He is the grandson of Croatian immigrants from Prugovac who settled in Benwood, WV in 1907. Brayec serves as secretary/treasurer of the Croatian Lodge #2 in Benwood and plays with a Croatian musical group in Cokeburg, PA. He spoke about immigrant communities in the area, Croatian traditions, foodways, music, and community that was centered around the Croatian Cultural Club in Benwood."]%

7. Transcript of oral history of Kent Brayec

Identifier:
4224.BrayecKent.IntTranscript.11.21.16
Title:
Transcript of oral history of Kent Brayec
Date:
2016-11-21
Creator:
Brayec, Kent
Contributor:
Hilliard, Emily
Subject:
Croatian Americans, Folk dancing, Croatian, Cooking (Sauerkraut), Folk songs, Croatian, Cooking, Croatian, foodways, Benwood (W. Va.), Wheeling, W.Va., Food habits, Arts, Croatian, Coal mine accidents--West Virginia
Location:
Moundsville (W. Va.), Benwood (W. Va.), Wheeling (W. Va.)
["Nancy Bruns is a chef, former restaurant owner, and the co-owner of J.Q. Dickinson Salt-works. Her family, the Dickinsons, have operated salt mines in the Kanawha Valley for five generations, since 1817. This interview was conducted in conjunction with the Malden Salt Fest."]%

8. Transcript of oral history of Nancy Bruns

Identifier:
4224.BrunsNancy.IntTranscript.3.1.17
Title:
Transcript of oral history of Nancy Bruns
Date:
2017-03-01
Creator:
Bruns, Nancy
Contributor:
Hilliard, Emily
Subject:
Salt mines and mining, foodways, Malden (W. Va.), Salt workers, Charleston (W. Va.), Food habits
Location:
Malden (W. Va.)
["Bill Caldwell (b. August 20, 1958) has worked at Charleston-area Kroger store for 44 years. He currently works at store 784 in Teays Valley as a meat cutter and has been a shop steward for United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 400 for 20-30 years. In this interview he speaks about recent contract negotiations with Kroger, union actions hes been involved in in the past, and his experience as a grocery store essential worker during the COVID-19 pandemic. This interview is part of a collection of interviews with UFCW member Kroger workers conducted remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic."]%

9. Transcript of oral history of Bill Caldwell

Identifier:
4224.CaldwellBill.IntTranscript.12.8.20
Title:
Transcript of oral history of Bill Caldwell
Date:
2020-12-08
Creator:
Caldwell, Bill
Contributor:
Hilliard, Emily
Subject:
Food industry and trade--Employees, Food habits, foodways, Labor disputes--West Virginia, Collective bargaining--Service industries, Labor union members, Supermarkets, Labor union locals, COVID-19 (Disease)
Location:
Teays Valley (W. Va. : Valley), Charleston (W. Va.)
["Roxane Garland (b. July 20, 1960, Point Marion, PA) has been a Kroger worker for 42 years and is currently the drug general merchandise department leader at store 813 in Morgantown, WV. She also serves as a United Food and Commercial Workers Local 400 shop steward. In this interview she speaks about recent contract negotiations with Kroger, union actions shes been involved in in the past, her experience as a grocery store essential worker during the COVID-19 pandemic, and her concerns for the future of Kroger workers.This interview is part of a collection of interviews with UFCW member Kroger workers conducted remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic."]%

10. Transcript of oral history of Roxane Garland

Identifier:
4224.GarlandRoxane.IntTranscript.12.15.20
Title:
Transcript of oral history of Roxane Garland
Date:
2020-12-15
Creator:
Garland, Roxane
Contributor:
Hilliard, Emily
Subject:
Supermarkets, Labor union members, foodways, Labor union locals, Women service industries workers, Morgantown (W. Va.), Collective bargaining--Service industries, Labor disputes--West Virginia, COVID-19 (Disease), Food habits
Location:
Morgantown (W. Va.), Charleston (W. Va.)
["Cora Lee (Phillips) Hairston (b. 1942, Sarah Anne, WV) is a musician and writer from Logan County, West Virginia. She and her husband Fred, also a musician, currently live in Omar, West Virginia. Cora Hairston is the author of two novels, Faces Behind the Dust and Hello World Here Comes Claraby Rose, both fictionalized accounts based on her childhood growing up in a Black coal camp. She spoke about her childhood, her music, and her writing practice."]%

11. Transcript of oral history of Cora Hairston

Identifier:
4224.HairstonCora.IntTranscript.5.3.16
Title:
Transcript of oral history of Cora Hairston
Date:
2016-05-03
Creator:
Hairston, Cora
Contributor:
Hilliard, Emily
Subject:
foodways, Food habits, Hairston, Cora, West Virginia--Fiction, Foxx, Redd, 1922-1991, Coal mines and mining, African Americans--Appalachian Region
Location:
Chief Logan State Park (W. Va.), Logan County (W. Va.)
["Diana Hamilton (b. October 1955), is a native of Cool Ridge, West Virginia. She has worked at King Tut Drive-In restaurant in Beckley for 40 years and has been the manager for 20 years."]%

12. Transcript of oral history of Diana Hamilton

Identifier:
4224.HamiltonDiana.IntTranscript.7.9.19
Title:
Transcript of oral history of Diana Hamilton
Date:
2019-07-09
Creator:
Hamilton, Diana
Contributor:
Hilliard, Emily
Subject:
Drive-in restaurants, foodways, Beckley (W. Va.), Food habits, Diners (Restaurants), Women service industries workers, Working class families
Location:
Beckley (W. Va.)