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![["Diane Betler was born in Pendleton County, West Virginia and came to Helvetia as a child to live with her adopted mother Margaret Koerner, an immigrant from Germany. Ms. Koerner was a skilled home cook from her Ms. Betler learned many traditional recipes. She married Kevin Betler, nephew of Eleanor Betler, and they live in the Koerner home in Helvetias Metzner Hollow where Ms. Betler was raised. She served as the principal of Pickens Elementary/High School, the public school serving children from Pickens and Helvetia. Ms. Betler makes the yeast-raised doughnuts for Helvetias Fasnacht celebration every year using Margaret Koerners recipe.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/4224BetlerDianeVideo0012616 "Audio slideshow of Diane Betler talking about making doughnuts for Fasnacht")
- Identifier:
- 4224.BetlerDiane.Video.001.2.6.16
- Title:
- Audio slideshow of Diane Betler talking about making doughnuts for Fasnacht
- Date:
- 2016-02-06
- Creator:
- Betler, Diane
- Contributor:
- Hilliard, Emily
- Subject:
- Doughnuts, Cooking, Swiss, Food habits, Festivals, foodways, Swiss American women, Carnival, Cooking, German, and Helvetia (W. Va.)
- Location:
- Helvetia (W. Va.)
![["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 hosablatz 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/4224BetlerEleanorVideo0012516 "Audio slideshow of Eleanor Betler talking about making rosettes and hozablatz for Fasnacht in Helvetia")
- Identifier:
- 4224.BetlerEleanor.Video.001.2.5.16
- Title:
- Audio slideshow of Eleanor Betler talking about making rosettes and hozablatz for Fasnacht in Helvetia
- Date:
- 2016-02-05
- Creator:
- Betler, Eleanor
- Contributor:
- Hilliard, Emily
- Subject:
- Helvetia (W. Va.), Doughnuts, foodways, Folk dancing, Swiss, Food habits, Cooking, Swiss, Swiss American women, Bakers, Farms--West Virginia, Square dance music--United States, Carnival, and Carnival masks
- Location:
- Helvetia (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. 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/4224BurkyVernonVideo00191016 "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:
- Fiddle tunes, Fiddling, Helvetia (W. Va.), and Old-time music
- 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 audio slideshow 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/4224CeceliaSmithVideo00143016 "Audio slideshow of Cecelia Smith talking about foodways in Helvetia")
- Identifier:
- 4224.CeceliaSmith.Video.001.4.30.16
- Title:
- Audio slideshow of Cecelia Smith talking about foodways in Helvetia
- Date:
- 2016-04-30
- Creator:
- Smith, Cecelia
- Contributor:
- Hilliard, Emily
- Subject:
- Canning and preserving, Pickling, Swiss American women, Helvetia (W. Va.), Bakers, Food habits, Wild leek, Cooking (Sauerkraut), and foodways
- Location:
- Randolph County (W. Va.) and 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/4224RiceHenryVideo00143016 "Audio slideshow of Henry Rice, talking about digging ramps and working at the Hutte Swiss Restaurant in Helvetia")
- Identifier:
- 4224.RiceHenry.Video.001.4.30.16
- Title:
- Audio slideshow of Henry Rice, talking about digging ramps and working at the Hutte Swiss Restaurant in Helvetia
- Date:
- 2016-04-30
- Creator:
- Rice, Henry
- Contributor:
- Hilliard, Emily
- Subject:
- Pickling, Cooking, Swiss, Swiss Americans, Helvetia (W. Va.), Forage plants, Restaurants--United States, Bakers, Restaurateurs, Cooking (Chicken), Wild leek, and Cooking (Sausages)
- Location:
- Helvetia (W. Va.)
![["Morgan Rice was born in Helvetia, West Virginia in 1999. She is the daughter of Hutte cook Henry Rice, and great-granddaughter of town matriarch and co-founder of the Hutte restaurant, Eleanor Mailloux. Ms. Rice is a member of the Helvetia Farm Womens Club and works part-time as a waitress at the Hutte restaurant. In 2015 she created a petition to save Helvetias Ramp Supper.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/4224RiceMorganVideo00143016 "Audio slideshow of Morgan Rice talking about the Helvetia Ramp Supper")
- Identifier:
- 4224.RiceMorgan.Video.001.4.30.16
- Title:
- Audio slideshow of Morgan Rice talking about the Helvetia Ramp Supper
- Date:
- 2016-04-30
- Creator:
- Rice, Morgan
- Contributor:
- Hilliard, Emily
- Subject:
- Wild leek, foodways, Food habits, Forage plants, Swiss American women, Cooking, Swiss, and Helvetia (W. Va.)
- Location:
- Helvetia (W. Va.)
![["Sharon Rollins grew up in Charleston, West Virginia and moved to Dallas, TX when she was thirty years old. Upon retirement in 2010, she moved to Helvetia, West Virginia and has since become involved in a number of community projects. She manages the Ramp Supper, serves as treasurer for the Helvetia Community Fair, and volunteers at the Hutte Restaurant.This audio slideshow 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/4224SharonRollinsVideo00143016 "Audio slideshow of Sharon Rollins talking about foodways at the Helvetia Community Fair")
- Identifier:
- 4224.SharonRollins.Video.001.4.30.16
- Title:
- Audio slideshow of Sharon Rollins talking about foodways at the Helvetia Community Fair
- Date:
- 2016-04-30
- Creator:
- Rollins, Sharon
- Contributor:
- Hilliard, Emily and DeWitt, Gabe
- Subject:
- Craft festivals, Agricultural exhibitions, Canning and preserving, Helvetia (W. Va.), Food habits, foodways, and Festivals
- Location:
- Helvetia (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 audio slideshow 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/4224VernonBurkyVideo001111416 "Audio slideshow of Vernon Burky speaking about making Hevetia cheese")
- Identifier:
- 4224.VernonBurky.Video.001.11.14.16
- Title:
- Audio slideshow of Vernon Burky speaking about making Hevetia cheese
- Date:
- 2016-11-14
- Creator:
- Burky, Vernon
- Contributor:
- Hilliard, Emily
- Subject:
- Cheesemaking, Swiss Americans, Helvetia (W. Va.), Cooking, Swiss, and Dairy cattle
- Location:
- Randolph County (W. Va.) and Helvetia (W. Va.)
