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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. Yeah; just kept that smokehouse full of smoke all day and night. Theyd put a big hunk of wood on it; it wouldnt burn but it--they had fire under it and it would sit there and smoke that little room half as big as this. They just smoked up tight. They had the sausage on rods; nothing could come in or get up on there. There it would sit; it was just dried up real solid and my uncle was--I stayed with my uncle when I was in high school. And he said, hey Vernon; come over here. (Laughs) He had rheumatism and he couldnt move around. He was in bed all winter. Go up there to the smokehouse and get me a link of that sausage. (Laughs) And Id go up and clip one of them off and bring it down. Hed get a hold of one piece and put the rest under the pillow and hed start eating that. He wasnt supposed to have red meat because of rheumatism.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/4224BurkyVernonIntTranscript111416 "Transcript of oral history of Vernon Burky")
- Identifier:
- 4224.BurkyVernon.IntTranscript.11.14.16
- Title:
- Transcript of oral history of Vernon Burky
- Date:
- 2016-11-14
- Creator:
- Burky, Sandy, Burky, Vernon, and Morgan, Thrayon
- Contributor:
- Hilliard, Emily and Whipp, David
- Subject:
- Helvetia (W. Va.), Eggs, Cooking (Sauerkraut), Cheesemaking, Waltz, Cooking (Sausages), Fiddling, Sawmills, Wine and wine making--United States, Maple syrup, Fiddle tunes, Cooking, Swiss, Square dance music--United States, and Canning and preserving
- 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.)
![["Henry Rice was born in Helvetia, West Virginia in 1978. He is the daughter of Catherine Irene Mailloux and grand-daughter of Eleanor Mailloux, the co-founder of the Hutte. His daughter, Morgan Rice, was also interviewed for this project. Henry Rice cooks for the Hutte Sunday buffet, and works in construction. He is also an avid hunter, trapper, ginseng and ramp digger, morel mushroom hunter, and a collector of old bottles and other artifacts.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/4224RiceHenryIntTranscript43016 "Transcript of oral history of Henry Rice")
- Identifier:
- 4224.RiceHenry.IntTranscript.4.30.16
- Title:
- Transcript of oral history of Henry Rice
- Date:
- 2016-04-30
- Creator:
- Rice, Henry
- Contributor:
- Hilliard, Emily
- Subject:
- Deer hunting, Wild leek, Wine and wine making--United States, Canning and preserving, Restaurateurs, foodways, Cooking, Swiss, Pickling, Morels, Cheesemaking, Helvetia (W. Va.), Food habits, American ginseng, Turkey hunting, Trapping, Hides and skins, and Tanning
- Location:
- Helvetia (W. Va.)
