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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/"]](/thumb/4224BetlerEleanorIntTranscript2516 "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:
- Cooking, Swiss, Sheep farming, Carnival, Wild leek, Helvetia (W. Va.), Canning and preserving, 4-H clubs, Food habits, Dairy cattle, Cheesemaking, Beef cattle, Bread, foodways, Hill farming, Orchards, Bakers, Swiss American women, Swine, and Corn bread
- Location:
- Helvetia (W. Va.)
![["Ernest Hofer, born in Helvetia in 1950, is from a family with deep roots in Helvetia. His grandfather was the first baby boy born in the community in the 1870s. Aside from serving in Vietnam for two years, Hofer has lived in Helvetia his entire life. Hofer recently retired from working in the mines, and has worked at the Pickens [Helvetias neighboring town] Ramp Supper for forty-two years, and the Helvetia Ramp Supper for twenty-five. He is treasurer of the Helvetia Community Hall Association and is a member of the Pickens Volunteer Fire Department. He retired from working in the mines earlier this year.People aren't going to tell you where the ramp patch isthat's a well-kept secret and I'm not tellin' you where mine's at! And a lot of the property has been closed to ramp-digging due to the lumber companies, leasing the property. Which...has hurt the ramp suppers a lot. So, you just can't dig 'em. 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/"]](/thumb/4224HoferErnestIntTranscript43016 "Transcript of oral history of Ernest Hofer")
- Identifier:
- 4224.HoferErnest.IntTranscript.4.30.16
- Title:
- Transcript of oral history of Ernest Hofer
- Date:
- 2016-04-30
- Creator:
- Hofer, Ernest
- Contributor:
- Hilliard, Emily
- Subject:
- Wine and wine making--United States, Food habits, 4-H clubs, Coal mines and mining, foodways, Helvetia (W. Va.), Wild leek, Cooking, Swiss, and Veterans
- Location:
- Helvetia (W. Va.)
![["Cecelia Coleman Smith was born in Buckhannon, West Virginia in 1949. Originally from Pickens, West Virginia, her family moved away from the Helvetia/Pickens community when she was seven so her father could take a coal mining job. She moved back to Pickens in 2005. Mrs. Smith served in the military and is a member of the local American Legion chapter. She is also part of the Pickens Improvement and Historical Society, the Farm Womens Club, and occasionally volunteers at the Hutte Restaurant.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/"]](/thumb/4224SmithCeceliaIntTranscript43016 "Transcript of oral history of Cecelia Smith")
- Identifier:
- 4224.SmithCecelia.IntTranscript.4.30.16
- Title:
- Transcript of oral history of Cecelia Smith
- Date:
- 2016-04-30
- Creator:
- Smith, Cecelia
- Contributor:
- Hilliard, Emily
- Subject:
- Food habits, Cooking, Swiss, Wild leek, Swiss American women, foodways, 4-H clubs, Helvetia (W. Va.), Canning and preserving, and Bakers
- Location:
- Helvetia (W. Va.)
