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1. Oral history of Eleanor Betler

Identifier:
4224.BetlerEleanor.AudioInt.2.5.16
Title:
Oral history of Eleanor Betler
Date:
2016-02-05
Creator:
Betler, Eleanor
Contributor:
Hilliard, Emily
Subject:
Cheesemaking, Orchards, Hill farming, Beef cattle, Corn bread, Carnival, Bread, foodways, Canning and preserving, Food habits, Bakers, 4-H clubs, Cooking, Swiss, Wild leek, Swine, Dairy cattle, 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 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/"]%

2. 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:
Bakers, Bread, Swine, Food habits, Helvetia (W. Va.), Hill farming, Corn bread, Beef cattle, Carnival, Canning and preserving, Wild leek, Orchards, Sheep farming, 4-H clubs, Cheesemaking, Dairy cattle, Swiss American women, foodways, Cooking, Swiss
Location:
Helvetia (W. Va.)

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3. Oral history of Vernon Burky, 1 of 2

Identifier:
4224.BurkyVernon.AudioInt.001.11.14.16
Title:
Oral history of Vernon Burky, 1 of 2
Date:
2016-11-14
Creator:
Morgan, Thrayon, Burky, Vernon, Burky, Sandy
Contributor:
Whipp, David, Hilliard, Emily
Subject:
Sheep farming, Old-time music, Helvetia (W. Va.), Sawmills, Food habits, Fiddle tunes, Maple syrup, foodways, Canning and preserving, Square dance music--United States, Fiddling, Cooking (Sauerkraut), Cooking (Sausages), Eggs, Waltz, Pickling, Cooking, Swiss, Cheesemaking
Location:
Helvetia (W. Va.)

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4. Oral history of Vernon Burky, 2 of 2

Identifier:
4224.BurkyVernon.AudioInt.002.11.14.16
Title:
Oral history of Vernon Burky, 2 of 2
Date:
2016-11-14
Creator:
Morgan, Thrayon, Burky, Sandy, Burky, Vernon
Contributor:
Hilliard, Emily, Whipp, David
Subject:
Food habits, Cooking (Sausages), Eggs, Sheep farming, Cooking (Sauerkraut), Cheesemaking, Cooking, Swiss, Fiddling, Square dance music--United States, Wine and wine making--United States, Maple syrup, foodways, Canning and preserving, Sawmills, Helvetia (W. Va.), Waltz, Old-time music, Fiddle tunes
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 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/"]%

5. 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.)
["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/"]%

6. 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:
Bakers, Food habits, Helvetia (W. Va.), Pickling, Swiss American women, Cooking (Sauerkraut), Wild leek, Canning and preserving, foodways
Location:
Helvetia (W. Va.), Randolph County (W. Va.)

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7. Oral history of Cecelia Smith

Identifier:
4224.CeciliaSmith.AudioInt.4.30.16
Title:
Oral history of Cecelia Smith
Date:
2016-04-30
Creator:
Smith, Cecelia
Contributor:
Hilliard, Emily
Subject:
foodways, Helvetia (W. Va.), Cooking, Swiss, Swiss American women, Food habits, Wild leek, 4-H clubs, Bakers, Canning and preserving
Location:
Helvetia (W. Va.)
["The town of Helvetia, West Virginia, population 59, was founded by Swiss-German immigrants in 1869. In the late 60s, around Helvetias centennial, town matriarch Eleanor Mailloux worked to revive many of Helvetias Swiss traditions, co-founding the Hutte Swiss restaurant, collecting a cookbook of community recipes, and restoring the Fasnacht celebration as a public event. Helvetia also has a long-standing cheese making tradition, practiced in private homes, and in the semi-public Cheese Haus, which now is located in an old renovated mechanics garage. Documentation of foodways traditions in the community is 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/Also see Emily Hilliards piece on Helvetias seasonal celebrations via The Bitter Southerner: https://bittersoutherner.com/my-year-in-helvetia-west-virginia Read her piece on the Hutte Restaurant, Something Good from Helvetia, for the Southern Foodways Alliance: https://www.southernfoodways.org/something-good-from-helvetia/ and NPR piece on Fasnachts foodways traditions: https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2015/02/17/386970143/swiss-village-west-virginia-mardi-gras-feast-fasnachtLearn more about Helvetia via the website maintained by Helvetia resident Dave Whipp: http://www.helvetiawv.com/"]%

8. Helvetia museum display of canning jars

Identifier:
4224.Helvetia.Photo.005.2.6.16
Title:
Helvetia museum display of canning jars
Date:
2016-02-06
Creator:
Hilliard, Emily
Subject:
Swiss Americans, Canning and preserving, Food habits, Helvetia (W. Va.), foodways, Community museums, Cooking, Swiss
Location:
Helvetia (W. Va.)
["The Helvetia Community Fair, located in the Swiss community of Helvetia in Randolph County, is one of the oldest agricultural fairs in West Virginia. Activities include a parade in Swiss costume, alphorn music, Swiss folk dancing and singing, fahnenschwingen (flag twirling), a crafts, food, and canning exhibition, field events, an archery shoot, and more.Learn more in Emily Hilliard's Bitter Southerner piece on Helvetia's seasonal celebrations, including the Community Fair: https://bittersoutherner.com/my-year-in-helvetia-west-virginiaAnd in the Helvetia Foodways Oral History Project conducted by the West Virginia Folklife Program in partnership with the Southern Foodways Alliance: https://www.southernfoodways.org/oral-history/helvetia-west-virginia/"]%

9. Canned goods exhibition at the Helvetia Community Fair

Identifier:
4224.HelvetiaCommunityFair.067.Photo.9.10.16
Title:
Canned goods exhibition at the Helvetia Community Fair
Date:
2016-09-10
Creator:
Hilliard, Emily
Subject:
Helvetia (W. Va.), foodways, Food habits, Festivals, Canning and preserving, Agricultural exhibitions
Location:
Helvetia (W. Va.)
["The Helvetia Community Fair, located in the Swiss community of Helvetia in Randolph County, is one of the oldest agricultural fairs in West Virginia. Activities include a parade in Swiss costume, alphorn music, Swiss folk dancing and singing, fahnenschwingen (flag twirling), a crafts, food, and canning exhibition, field events, an archery shoot, and more.Learn more in Emily Hilliard's Bitter Southerner piece on Helvetia's seasonal celebrations, including the Community Fair: https://bittersoutherner.com/my-year-in-helvetia-west-virginiaAnd in the Helvetia Foodways Oral History Project conducted by the West Virginia Folklife Program in partnership with the Southern Foodways Alliance: https://www.southernfoodways.org/oral-history/helvetia-west-virginia/"]%

10. Canned meat exhibition at the Helvetia Community Fair

Identifier:
4224.HelvetiaCommunityFair.068.Photo.9.10.16
Title:
Canned meat exhibition at the Helvetia Community Fair
Date:
2016-09-10
Creator:
Hilliard, Emily
Subject:
Agricultural exhibitions, Food habits, Cooking (Sausages), Helvetia (W. Va.), foodways, Canning and preserving, Cooking (Venison), Swiss Americans, Festivals
Location:
Helvetia (W. Va.)
["The Helvetia Community Fair, located in the Swiss community of Helvetia in Randolph County, is one of the oldest agricultural fairs in West Virginia. Activities include a parade in Swiss costume, alphorn music, Swiss folk dancing and singing, fahnenschwingen (flag twirling), a crafts, food, and canning exhibition, field events, an archery shoot, and more.Learn more in Emily Hilliard's Bitter Southerner piece on Helvetia's seasonal celebrations, including the Community Fair: https://bittersoutherner.com/my-year-in-helvetia-west-virginiaAnd in the Helvetia Foodways Oral History Project conducted by the West Virginia Folklife Program in partnership with the Southern Foodways Alliance: https://www.southernfoodways.org/oral-history/helvetia-west-virginia/"]%

11. Canned corn exhibition at the Helvetia Community Fair

Identifier:
4224.HelvetiaCommunityFair.069.Photo.9.10.16
Title:
Canned corn exhibition at the Helvetia Community Fair
Date:
2016-09-10
Creator:
Hilliard, Emily
Subject:
Food habits, Canning and preserving, Swiss Americans, Helvetia (W. Va.), Festivals, foodways, Agricultural exhibitions
Location:
Helvetia (W. Va.)
["The Helvetia Community Fair, located in the Swiss community of Helvetia in Randolph County, is one of the oldest agricultural fairs in West Virginia. Activities include a parade in Swiss costume, alphorn music, Swiss folk dancing and singing, fahnenschwingen (flag twirling), a crafts, food, and canning exhibition, field events, an archery shoot, and more.Learn more in Emily Hilliard's Bitter Southerner piece on Helvetia's seasonal celebrations, including the Community Fair: https://bittersoutherner.com/my-year-in-helvetia-west-virginiaAnd in the Helvetia Foodways Oral History Project conducted by the West Virginia Folklife Program in partnership with the Southern Foodways Alliance: https://www.southernfoodways.org/oral-history/helvetia-west-virginia/"]%

12. Sauerkraut exhibition at the Helvetia Community Fair

Identifier:
4224.HelvetiaCommunityFair.070.Photo.9.10.16
Title:
Sauerkraut exhibition at the Helvetia Community Fair
Date:
2016-09-10
Creator:
Hilliard, Emily
Subject:
Canning and preserving, Festivals, Agricultural exhibitions, Swiss Americans, Food habits, Cooking (Sauerkraut), Cooking, Swiss, foodways, Helvetia (W. Va.)
Location:
Helvetia (W. Va.)