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["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/"]%

1. 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.)
["Kathy Evans (b. July 8, 1962, Morgantown, WV) of Bruceton Mills and Margaret Bruning of Elkins are participants in the 2020-2021 West Virginia Folklife Apprenticeship Program, in an apprenticeship titled, Sheep to Shawl: The Art of Raising Sheep and Creating Fiber Arts. Evans is a fifth-generation farmer and co-owner with her husband Reid of Evans Knob Farm in Preston County where she cultivates Certified Naturally Grown vegetables and raises sheep and poultry. She teaches and exhibits her fiber arts both in West Virginia and across the country and has been featured in Modern Farmer and Morgantown Magazine. Bruning grew up on a goat farm in upstate New York and has been a lifelong fiber artist. She and her husband David raise sheep at their homestead in Randolph County.Read a profile of Evans and Bruning on the West Virginia Folklife blog:https://wvfolklife.org/2020/11/04/2020-folklife-apprenticeship-feature-kathy-evans-margaret-bruning-sheep-to-shawl/Evans Knob Farm website: https://www.evansknobfarm.com/Poe Run Craft and Provisions: http://www.poerun.org/"]%

2. Artist profile of Margaret Bruning

Identifier:
4224.BruningMargaret.ArtistProfile.3.20.20
Title:
Artist profile of Margaret Bruning
Date:
2020-03-20
Creator:
Bruning, Margaret
Subject:
Sheep farming, Apprenticeship programs, Textile crafts, Farms--West Virginia, Weaving, Spinning-wheel, Spinning, Fiberwork, Woolen and worsted spinning
Location:
Randolph County (W. Va.), Elkins (W. Va.)
["Kathy Evans (b. July 8, 1962, Morgantown, WV) of Bruceton Mills and Margaret Bruning of Elkins are participants in the 2020-2021 West Virginia Folklife Apprenticeship Program, in an apprenticeship titled, Sheep to Shawl: The Art of Raising Sheep and Creating Fiber Arts. Evans is a fifth-generation farmer and co-owner with her husband Reid of Evans Knob Farm in Preston County where she cultivates Certified Naturally Grown vegetables and raises sheep and poultry. She teaches and exhibits her fiber arts both in West Virginia and across the country and has been featured in Modern Farmer and Morgantown Magazine.Read a profile of Evans and Bruning on the West Virginia Folklife blog:https://wvfolklife.org/2020/11/04/2020-folklife-apprenticeship-feature-kathy-evans-margaret-bruning-sheep-to-shawl/Evans Knob Farm website: https://www.evansknobfarm.com/"]%

3. Artist profile of Kathy Evans

Identifier:
4224.EvansKathy.Artist.Profile.3.20.20
Title:
Artist profile of Kathy Evans
Date:
2020-03-20
Creator:
Evans, Kathy
Subject:
Fiberwork, Woolen and worsted spinning, Farms--West Virginia, Spinning-wheel, Weaving, Apprenticeship programs, Textile crafts, Spinning, Sheep farming
Location:
Bruceton Mills (W. Va.), Preston County (W. Va.)
["Kathy Evans (b. July 8, 1962, Morgantown, WV) of Bruceton Mills and Margaret Bruning of Elkins are participants in the 2020-2021 West Virginia Folklife Apprenticeship Program, in an apprenticeship titled, Sheep to Shawl: The Art of Raising Sheep and Creating Fiber Arts. Evans is a fifth-generation farmer and co-owner with her husband Reid of Evans Knob Farm in Preston County where she cultivates Certified Naturally Grown vegetables and raises sheep and poultry. She teaches and exhibits her fiber arts both in West Virginia and across the country and has been featured in Modern Farmer and Morgantown Magazine. Bruning grew up on a goat farm in upstate New York and has been a lifelong fiber artist. She and her husband David raise sheep at their homestead in Randolph County.Read a profile of Evans and Bruning on the West Virginia Folklife blog:https://wvfolklife.org/2020/11/04/2020-folklife-apprenticeship-feature-kathy-evans-margaret-bruning-sheep-to-shawl/Evans Knob Farm website: https://www.evansknobfarm.com/Poe Run Craft and Provisions: http://www.poerun.org/"]%

4. Transcript of oral history of Kathy Evans and Margaret Bruning

Identifier:
4224.EvansKathyBruningMargaret.IntTranscript.10.27.20
Title:
Transcript of oral history of Kathy Evans and Margaret Bruning
Date:
2020-10-27
Creator:
Bruning, Margaret, Evans, Kathy
Contributor:
Hilliard, Emily
Subject:
Spinning-wheel, Looms, Textile crafts, Wool, Spinning, Weaving, Fiberwork, Woolen and worsted spinning, Farms--West Virginia, Sheep farming
Location:
Charleston (W. Va.), Bruceton Mills (W. Va.), Elkins (W. Va.)
["Sam & Joe HerrmannJoe Herrmann (b.1949) and Sam Herrmann (b. 1949), both Maryland natives, are traditional musicians who play together as part of Critton Hollow String Band. They have been a couple since the mid-1970s when they moved to Hampshire County, West Virginia. Joe is a fiddle and banjo player, and Sam is a guitar and hammer dulcimer player. Sam is also a knitter, hand yarn spinner, and owns the knitting kit company Samspun. They live on a piece of land in Paw Paw, WV where they keep sheep.Interviewers note:Interview with Sam and Joe Herrmann of Critton Hollow String Band on the back porch of their home in Critton Hollow, Paw Paw, West Virginia. Sam was knitting a childs sweater during the interview."]%

5. Transcript of oral history of Joe and Sam Herrmann

Identifier:
4224.HerrmannJoeHerrmann.IntTranscript.7.19.16
Title:
Transcript of oral history of Joe and Sam Herrmann
Date:
2016-07-19
Creator:
Herrmann, Sam, Herrmann, Joe
Contributor:
Hilliard, Emily
Subject:
Folk music--West Virginia, Fiddle tunes, Sheep farming, Dulcimer, Banjo, Critton Hollow Stringband, Old-time music, Fiddling, Appalachian dulcimer and autoharp music, Rizzetta, Sam, Knitters (Persons)
Location:
Hampshire County (W. Va.)