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["Vernon John Burky was born to a Swiss family in Helvetia, West Virginia in 1925. He grew up speaking Swiss on his family farm, where his parents raised animals and managed a sawmill, and his grandparents operated a cheese house. They made Helvetia cheese, a type of Swiss cheese, similar to Emental, that was made throughout the Helvetia community and a staple in the diet of residents. As a child, Burky raised chickens and tapped maple trees on his family farm. As an adult, he was an active winemaker, a common pursuit in the Helvetia community. During his working years, Burky worked as a truck driver for a saw mill and a coal company. He learned to play fiddle as a child and started playing in the Helvetia Star Band, the local dance band for generations and the namesake of one of the villages two dance halls. He still plays in the group, which performs regularly for Helvetia square dances and events. 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/"]%

1. Vernon Burky and friends play the fiddle tune "Ragtime Annie" at the Helvetia Community Fair

Identifier:
4224.BurkyVernon.Video.001.9.10.16
Title:
Vernon Burky and friends play the fiddle tune "Ragtime Annie" at the Helvetia Community Fair
Date:
2016-09-10
Creator:
Hilliard, Emily
Subject:
Old-time music, Fiddling, Helvetia (W. Va.), Fiddle tunes
Location:
Helvetia (W. Va.)
["Elaine (Moore) Purkey is an activist songwriter and musician from Harts Creek, West Virginia in Lincoln County. She was born on May 29, 1949, on the same piece of property where she still lives. She was raised in a family of musicians and flatfoot dancers and attributes her powerful voice to the acapella singing she learned as a member of the Church of Christ. As a teenager she played in bands with her brother, and in early adulthood she was the lead singer of a local country band. In the 1980s, she began performing regularly on the Wallace Horn Friendly Neighbors Show, a live radio program out of Logan County that has been on the air since 1967. She now hosts the show. Elaine performed a concert at Yasou Greek Restaurant in McDowell County on July 8, 2017. The concert was sponsored by the West Virginia Folklife Program at the West Virginia Humanities Council and McArts."]%

2. Elaine Purkey plays her original song "Keepers of the Mountains" at Yasou Greek Restaurant

Identifier:
4224.PurkeyElaine.Video.001.7.8.17
Title:
Elaine Purkey plays her original song "Keepers of the Mountains" at Yasou Greek Restaurant
Date:
2017-07-08
Creator:
Hilliard, Emily
Subject:
Working class--Songs and music, Purkey, Elaine
Location:
Kimball (W. Va.)
["Elaine (Moore) Purkey is an activist songwriter and musician from Harts Creek, West Virginia in Lincoln County. She was born on May 29, 1949, on the same piece of property where she still lives. She was raised in a family of musicians and flatfoot dancers and attributes her powerful voice to the acapella singing she learned as a member of the Church of Christ. As a teenager she played in bands with her brother, and in early adulthood she was the lead singer of a local country band. In the 1980s, she began performing regularly on the Wallace Horn Friendly Neighbors Show, a live radio program out of Logan County that has been on the air since 1967. She now hosts the show. Elaine performed a concert at Yasou Greek Restaurant in McDowell County on July 8, 2017. The concert was sponsored by the West Virginia Folklife Program at the West Virginia Humanities Council and McArts."]%

3. Elaine Purkey plays her original song "One Day More" at Yasou Greek Restaurant

Identifier:
4224.PurkeyElaine.Video.002.7.8.17
Title:
Elaine Purkey plays her original song "One Day More" at Yasou Greek Restaurant
Date:
2017-07-08
Creator:
Hilliard, Emily
Subject:
Purkey, Elaine, Working class--Songs and music
Location:
Kimball (W. Va.)
["Singer-songwriter Glen Simpson of Hardy, Kentucky plays his original song \"Don't Shoot Him Anymore,\" based on the murders of Sid Hatfield and Edward Chambers during the West Virginia Mine Wars. Shot at United Mine Workers of America Local 1440 in Matewan, West Virginia as part of the George Mason Folklore Field School. Find more of Simpson's music at http://glen-simpson.com/"]%

4. Singer-songwriter Glen Simpson of Hardy, KY sings "Don't Shoot Him Anymore," based on the murders of Sid Hatfield and Edward Chambers during the West Virginia Mine Wars

Identifier:
4224.SimpsonGlenn.Video.001.5.22.18
Title:
Singer-songwriter Glen Simpson of Hardy, KY sings "Don't Shoot Him Anymore," based on the murders of Sid Hatfield and Edward Chambers during the West Virginia Mine Wars
Date:
2018-05-22
Creator:
Hilliard, Emily
Subject:
Coal mines and mining in art, Working class--Songs and music, Labor union members, Coal miners--West Virginia, Labor disputes--West Virginia, Coal mines and mining, Labor union locals
Location:
Mingo County (W. Va.)
["On February 22, 2018, thousands of West Virginia public school teachers and school service employees walked out of their classrooms in what would become a nine-day statewide strike. Teachers demands included a 5% raise and affordable healthcare coverage through the West Virginia Public Employees Insurance Agency or PEIA. These photos are part of a series of photos, videos, and interviews documenting the labor lore and expressive culture of the 2018 and 2019 West Virginia Teachers Strike.For more information on the 2018 and 2019 West Virginia Teachers Strike visit e-WV: https://www.wvencyclopedia.org/articles/2454"]%

5. Clip of UMWA president Cecil Roberts' speech at a West Virginia Teachers' Strike rally & teachers chanting "55 Strong"

Identifier:
4224.WVTeachersStrike.Video.001.2.26.18
Title:
Clip of UMWA president Cecil Roberts' speech at a West Virginia Teachers' Strike rally & teachers chanting "55 Strong"
Date:
2018-02-26
Creator:
Hilliard, Emily
Subject:
United Mine Workers of America, Labor disputes--West Virginia, Teachers' unions--United States, West Virginia Capitol Complex (Charleston, W. Va.), Labor union members, Strikes and lockouts--Teachers
Location:
Charleston (W. Va.)
["On February 22, 2018, thousands of West Virginia public school teachers and school service employees walked out of their classrooms in what would become a nine-day statewide strike. Teachers demands included a 5% raise and affordable healthcare coverage through the West Virginia Public Employees Insurance Agency or PEIA. These photos are part of a series of photos, videos, and interviews documenting the labor lore and expressive culture of the 2018 and 2019 West Virginia Teachers Strike.For more information on the 2018 and 2019 West Virginia Teachers Strike visit e-WV: https://www.wvencyclopedia.org/articles/2454"]%

6. Elliot Ventura, Spring Valley High School student and son of a West Virginia Spanish teacher, speaks during a student rally in support of striking teachers

Identifier:
4224.WVTeachersStrike.Video.001.3.2.18
Title:
Elliot Ventura, Spring Valley High School student and son of a West Virginia Spanish teacher, speaks during a student rally in support of striking teachers
Date:
2018-03-02
Creator:
Hilliard, Emily
Subject:
Strikes and lockouts--Teachers, Labor disputes--West Virginia, West Virginia Capitol Complex (Charleston, W. Va.), Teaching, Labor union members, Public schools--Employees, Teachers' unions--United States
Location:
Charleston (W. Va.), Wayne County (W. Va.), Kanawha County (W. Va.)