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["Dave Bing is a fiddler and fiddle maker from Melissa, West Virginia, outside of Huntington. He now lives in Harmony in Roane County, West Virginia with his wife. As a young man, he spent time learning from many elder fiddlers in West Virginia and Eastern Kentucky, including the Hammons Family of Pocahontas County. Dave Bing has been a member of numerous old-time bands such as The Bing Brothers with his brothers Tim Bing and Mike Bing, Gandydancer with Gerry Milnes, and The High Ridge Ramblers with Mark Payne and Andrew Dunlap."]%

1. Transcript of oral history of Dave Bing

Identifier:
4224.BingDaveIntTranscript6.21.17
Title:
Transcript of oral history of Dave Bing
Date:
2017-96-21
Creator:
Bing, Dave, 1955-
Contributor:
Hilliard, Emily
Subject:
Hammons (Family : W. Va.), woodworking, Fiddle tunes, Old-time music, Bing, Dave, 1955-, Augusta Heritage Center, Fiddling, Musical instruments
Location:
Roane County (W. Va.)
["Jenny Smith is an old-time fiddler, dulcimer player, banjo musician and clog dancer from Lost Creek, West Virginia. I interviewed her with her mother, Dee Cogar Bright, from Sutton, West Virginia. When she was young, Smith apprenticed with fiddler Melvin Wine through the former Augusta Heritage Apprenticeship Program. In this interview, they speak about their family lore, and the old-time music and square dance traditions, mainly in Braxton and Webster counties."]%

2. Transcript of oral history of Dee Cogar Bright and Jenny Smith

Identifier:
4224.BrightDeeJennySmith.IntTranscript.12.19.17
Title:
Transcript of oral history of Dee Cogar Bright and Jenny Smith
Date:
2017-12-19
Creator:
Smith, Jenny, Bright, Dee Cogar
Contributor:
Hilliard, Emily
Subject:
Banjo, Folk music--West Virginia, Fiddling, Wine, Melvin, Appalachian dulcimer and autoharp music, Square dance music--United States, Apprenticeship programs, Folk music festivals, Old-time music, Hammons (Family : W. Va.), Fiddle tunes
Location:
Weston (W. Va.)
["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/"]%

3. 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:
Morgan, Thrayon, Burky, Sandy, Burky, Vernon
Contributor:
Hilliard, Emily, Whipp, David
Subject:
Fiddling, Square dance music--United States, Cooking (Sauerkraut), Eggs, Cooking (Sausages), Cheesemaking, Wine and wine making--United States, Fiddle tunes, Maple syrup, Helvetia (W. Va.), Cooking, Swiss, Waltz, Canning and preserving, Sawmills
Location:
Helvetia (W. Va.)
["Ray Fought is a self-taught fiddler and fiddle maker living in Parkersburg, West Virginia."]%

4. Transcript of oral history of Ray Fought

Identifier:
4224.FoughtRay.IntTranscript.9.25.17
Title:
Transcript of oral history of Ray Fought
Date:
2017-09-25
Creator:
Fought, Ray
Contributor:
Hilliard, Emily
Subject:
Old-time music, woodworking, Byrd, Robert C., Bowed stringed instruments, Fiddling, Fiddle tunes
Location:
Parkersburg (W. Va.)
["Frank George (October 6, 1928 November 15, 2017), a Bluefield native, was a banjo player, fiddler, and piper, who also played piano, organ, hammer and lap dulcimer, and was a walking compendium of West Virginia traditional music history and jokes. He was the recipient of the 1994 Vandalia Award, West Virginias highest folklife honor. Jane George (November 11, 1922 February 19, 2018) helped launch the craft revival in the Mountain State through extensive fieldwork with traditional artists, educational programming, and by co-founding the Mountain State Art & Craft Fair at Cedar Lakes. She also hosted Mountain Heritage weekends and Kanawha County Parks Mountaineer Day Camps to teach young mountaineers about their cultural heritage, founded two Scottish dance troupes, and served as a 4-H agent in multiple counties. She was the 1993 Vandalia Award recipient. "]%

5. Transcript of oral history of Frank and Jane George

Identifier:
4224.GeorgeFrankGeorgeJane.IntTranscript.4.19.16
Title:
Transcript of oral history of Frank and Jane George
Date:
2016-04-19
Creator:
George, Franklin, George, Jane Taylor
Contributor:
Hilliard, Emily
Subject:
Fiddling, Walker, John Homer, 4-H clubs, Craft festivals, Old-time music, Folk music--West Virginia, Banjo, Fiddle tunes
Location:
Roane County (W. Va.)
["Trevor Hammons is a 17-year old banjo player and fiddler from Pocahontas County, and a member of the legendary musical Hammons Family. He is the only member of the Hammons Family who still actively plays music in the familys old-time tradition."]%

6. Transcript of oral history of Trevor Hammons

Identifier:
4224.HammonsTrevor.IntTranscript.4.19.18
Title:
Transcript of oral history of Trevor Hammons
Date:
2018-04-19
Creator:
Hammons, Trevor
Contributor:
Hilliard, Emily
Subject:
Old-time music, Fiddling, Hammons (Family : W. Va.), Fiddle tunes, Banjo, Folk music--West Virginia
Location:
Marlinton (W. Va.), Pocahontas County (W. Va.)
["Joe Herrman (master artist, b. 1949) of Paw Paw in Hampshire County and Dakota Karper (apprentice, b. 1992) of Capon Bridge are participants in the 2020-2021 West Virginia Folklife Apprenticeship Program, studying old-time fiddle. Herrmann is a founding member of the Critton Hollow String Band and has taught old-time fiddle to many private students and at the Augusta Heritage Center. Herrmann and Karper apprenticed together previously in 2004 (when Karper was 11) through Augusta Heritage Centers former Apprenticeship Program.See the West Virginia Folklife Program feature on Herrmann and Karper: https://wvfolklife.org/2020/12/03/2020-folklife-apprenticeship-feature-joe-herrmann-dakota-karper-old-time-fiddle/"]%

7. Artist profile of Joe Herrmann

Identifier:
4224.HerrmannJoe.ArtistProfile.3.6.20
Title:
Artist profile of Joe Herrmann
Date:
2020-03-06
Creator:
Herrmann, Joe
Subject:
Folk music--West Virginia, Apprenticeship programs, Old-time music, Fiddling, Banjo, Fiddle tunes
Location:
Hampshire County (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."]%

8. 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.)
["Joe Herrman (master artist, b. 1949) of Paw Paw in Hampshire County and Dakota Karper (apprentice, b. 1992) of Capon Bridge are participants in the 2020-2021 West Virginia Folklife Apprenticeship Program, studying old-time fiddle. Herrmann is a founding member of the Critton Hollow String Band and has taught old-time fiddle to many private students and at the Augusta Heritage Center. Dakota Karper, a Hampshire County native, has been playing old-time fiddle for 20 years and runs The Cat and the Fiddle Music School. Herrmann and Karper apprenticed together previously in 2004 (when Karper was 11) through Augusta Heritage Centers former Apprenticeship Program.See the West Virginia Folklife Program feature on Herrmann and Karper: https://wvfolklife.org/2020/12/03/2020-folklife-apprenticeship-feature-joe-herrmann-dakota-karper-old-time-fiddle/"]%

9. Transcript of oral history of Joe Herrmann and Dakota Karper

Identifier:
4224.HerrmannJoeKarperDakota.IntTranscript.9.14.20
Title:
Transcript of oral history of Joe Herrmann and Dakota Karper
Date:
2020-09-14
Creator:
Karper, Dakota, Herrmann, Joe
Contributor:
Hilliard, Emily
Subject:
Fiddling, Folk music--West Virginia, Old-time music, Fiddle tunes, Apprenticeship programs
Location:
Hampshire County (W. Va.), Capon Bridge (W. Va.)
["Kim Johnson and Cody Jordan were participants in the 2020-2021 West Virginia Folklife Apprenticeship Program. Kim Johnson, a resident of South Charleston led an apprenticeship in banjo traditions of central West Virginia with apprentice Cody Jordan of Charleston. Johnson began playing with fiddler Wilson Douglas in 1979 and has played with and learned from many acclaimed West Virginia old-time musicians including Frank George and Lester McCumbers. She has taught both locally and nationally, at Augusta Heritage Center, Allegheny Echoes, The Festival of American Fiddle Tunes, and the Berkeley Old-time Music Convention. See our feature on Johnsons apprenticeship with Jordan here: https://wvfolklife.org/2020/09/04/2020-folklife-apprenticeship-feature-kim-johnson-cody-jordan-banjo-traditions-of-central-west-virginia/The West Virginia Folklife Apprenticeship Program offers up to a $3,000 stipend to West Virginia master traditional artists or tradition bearers working with qualified apprentices on a year-long in-depth apprenticeship in their cultural expression or traditional art form. These apprenticeships aim to facilitate the transmission of techniques and artistry of the forms, as well as their histories and traditions.The apprenticeship program grants are administered by the West Virginia Folklife Program at the West Virginia Humanities Council in Charleston and are supported in part by an Art Works grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. West Virginia Folklife is dedicated to the documentation, preservation, presentation, and support of West Virginias vibrant cultural heritage and living traditions."]%

10. Artist profile of Kim Johnson

Identifier:
4224.JohnsonKim.ArtistProfile.9.1.20
Title:
Artist profile of Kim Johnson
Date:
2020-09-01
Creator:
Johnson, Kim (Banjoist)
Subject:
Banjo, Johnson, Kim (Banjoist), Fiddle tunes, Folk music--West Virginia, Apprenticeship programs, Fiddling
Location:
Kanawha County (W. Va.), South Charleston (W. Va.)
["Kim Johnson and Cody Jordan were participants in the 2020-2021 West Virginia Folklife Apprenticeship Program. Kim Johnson, a resident of South Charleston led an apprenticeship in banjo traditions of central West Virginia with apprentice Cody Jordan of Charleston. Johnson began playing with fiddler Wilson Douglas in 1979 and has played with and learned from many acclaimed West Virginia old-time musicians including Frank George and Lester McCumbers. She has taught both locally and nationally, at Augusta Heritage Center, Allegheny Echoes, The Festival of American Fiddle Tunes, and the Berkeley Old-time Music Convention. Jordan plays guitar in The Modock Rounders with Johnson, touring across the state and region, and is looking forward to expanding his knowledge of central West Virginia old-time banjo traditions.See our feature on Johnsons apprenticeship with Jordan here: https://wvfolklife.org/2020/09/04/2020-folklife-apprenticeship-feature-kim-johnson-cody-jordan-banjo-traditions-of-central-west-virginia/The West Virginia Folklife Apprenticeship Program offers up to a $3,000 stipend to West Virginia master traditional artists or tradition bearers working with qualified apprentices on a year-long in-depth apprenticeship in their cultural expression or traditional art form. These apprenticeships aim to facilitate the transmission of techniques and artistry of the forms, as well as their histories and traditions.The apprenticeship program grants are administered by the West Virginia Folklife Program at the West Virginia Humanities Council in Charleston and are supported in part by an Art Works grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. West Virginia Folklife is dedicated to the documentation, preservation, presentation, and support of West Virginias vibrant cultural heritage and living traditions."]%

11. Transcript of oral history of Kim Johnson and Cody Jordan

Identifier:
4224.JohnsonKimJordanCody.IntTranscript.8.19.20
Title:
Transcript of oral history of Kim Johnson and Cody Jordan
Date:
2020-08-19
Creator:
Jordan, Cody, Johnson, Kim (Banjoist)
Contributor:
Hilliard, Emily
Subject:
Folk music festivals, Folk music--West Virginia, Old-time music, Fiddling, Fiddle tunes, Apprenticeship programs, Banjo
Location:
Charleston (W. Va.), Spring Hill (South Charleston, W. Va.), Kanawha County (W. Va.)
["Thomas Alan Cathead Johnston (b. 1952) is a bluegrass and country musician from McDowell County, WV. He is a former bassist in Mel Streets band The Swing Kings and his songs have been recorded by Del McCoury, Tommy Webb, and others."]%

12. Transcript of oral history of Alan "Cathead" Johnston

Identifier:
4224.JohnstonAlan.IntTranscript.4.14.16
Title:
Transcript of oral history of Alan "Cathead" Johnston
Date:
2016-04-14
Creator:
Johnston, Alan
Contributor:
Hilliard, Emily
Subject:
Fiddling, Fiddle tunes, Banjo, Folk music--West Virginia, McCoury, Del, 1939-, Bluegrass music, Goins, Melvin, 1933-, Street, Mel, Old-time music, Country music radio stations, Country music, Bowed stringed instruments
Location:
Welch (W. Va.), McDowell County (W. Va.)