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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. 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/"]
["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/"]
["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/"]

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["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/"]

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["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/"]
["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/"]