Search Results
![["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/"]%](/image/4224BetlerEleanorPhoto0312516/0.jpg)
- Identifier:
- 4224.BetlerEleanor.Photo.031.2.5.16
- Title:
- Fresh rosettes fried by Eleanor Betler and Sharon Rollins
- Date:
- 2016-02-05
- Creator:
- Hilliard, Emily
- Subject:
- Bakers, foodways, Swiss American women, Helvetia (W. Va.), Food habits, Carnival, Cooking, Swiss
- 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/"]%](/image/4224BetlerEleanorPhoto0322516/0.jpg)
- Identifier:
- 4224.BetlerEleanor.Photo.032.2.5.16
- Title:
- Finished rosettes to be served at Helvetia's Fasnacht celebration
- Date:
- 2016-02-05
- Creator:
- Hilliard, Emily
- Subject:
- Helvetia (W. Va.), Food habits, Swiss American women, Bakers, Cooking, Swiss, foodways, Carnival
- 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/"]%](/image/4224BetlerEleanorPhoto0332516/0.jpg)
- Identifier:
- 4224.BetlerEleanor.Photo.033.2.5.16
- Title:
- Freshly fried hozablatz cookies on Eleanor Betler's kitchen counter
- Date:
- 2016-02-05
- Creator:
- Hilliard, Emily
- Subject:
- Bakers, Cooking, Swiss, foodways, Swiss American women, Helvetia (W. Va.), Carnival, Food habits
- 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/"]%](/image/4224BetlerEleanorPhoto0342516/0.jpg)
- Identifier:
- 4224.BetlerEleanor.Photo.034.2.5.16
- Title:
- Fried hozablatz, sprinkled with sugar
- Date:
- 2016-02-05
- Creator:
- Hilliard, Emily
- Subject:
- Carnival, Cooking, Swiss, foodways, Swiss American women, Bakers, Helvetia (W. Va.), Food habits
- 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/"]%](/image/4224BetlerEleanorPhoto0352516/0.jpg)
- Identifier:
- 4224.BetlerEleanor.Photo.035.2.5.16
- Title:
- Hozablatz made by Eleanor Betler for Helvetia's Fasnacht celebration
- Date:
- 2016-02-05
- Creator:
- Hilliard, Emily
- Subject:
- Swiss American women, Cooking, Swiss, Food habits, Helvetia (W. Va.), foodways, Bakers, Carnival
- 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/"]%](/image/4224BetlerEleanorVideo0012516/0.jpg)
- 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:
- Folk dancing, Swiss, Doughnuts, Swiss American women, Food habits, foodways, Bakers, Square dance music--United States, Farms--West Virginia, Helvetia (W. Va.), Cooking, Swiss, Carnival masks, Carnival
- 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/"]%](/image/4224CeceliaSmithVideo00143016/0.jpg)
- 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.)
Listen to Audio
- 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 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/"]%](/image/4224HelvetiaCommunityFair078Photo91016/0.jpg)
- Identifier:
- 4224.HelvetiaCommunityFair.078.Photo.9.10.16
- Title:
- Cornbread and bread entries in the Helvetia Community Fair
- Date:
- 2016-09-10
- Creator:
- Hilliard, Emily
- Subject:
- Bakers, Helvetia (W. Va.), Agricultural exhibitions, Food habits, Bread, Festivals, foodways, Corn bread
- Location:
- Helvetia (W. Va.)
![["The Swiss community of Helvetia, West Virginia began hosting its annual ramp supper sometime between 1946-1948 (Helvetia native Ernest Hofer who has been working at the supper for at least 40 years, wasnt sure of the exact date). The event is a fundraiser, benefiting the Helvetia Community Hall Association and the Farm Womens Club. For weeks prior, volunteers, including local 4-H kids, work to wash and freeze 60 bushels of ramps, some of which are dug and donated by locals, and the rest are bought from a digger. On the Friday before the event, male volunteers gather outside to cook 400 lbs. of potatoes in iron kettles over a wood fire, while drinking homemade wine. Women volunteers work in the kitchen, cutting 300 lbs. of ham, making cornbread, cooking Navy beans, and defrosting ramps. The Helvetia Ramp Supper is always held the last Saturday in April and draws visitors from across the state and region. The dinner includes fried and fresh ramps, beans, ham, fried potatoes, applesauce, cornbread, coleslaw, drink, and dessert, which guests eat at long tables in the basement of the Helvetia Community Hall. After dinner, a square dance is held upstairs. The documentation of the Helvetia Ramp Supper 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, including the Ramp Supper, via The Bitter Southerner: https://bittersoutherner.com/my-year-in-helvetia-west-virginia and read her piece on the Ramp Supper via the West Virginia Folklife blog: https://wvfolklife.org/2016/05/27/rampfingerprints/For more information, visit: http://www.helvetiawv.com/Events/Helvetia_Ramps/Helvetia_Ramps.htm"]%](/image/4224HelvetiaRampSupperPhoto02642816/0.jpg)
- Identifier:
- 4224.HelvetiaRampSupper.Photo.026.4.28.16
- Title:
- Preparation of cornbread for the Helvetia Ramp Supper
- Date:
- 2016-04-28
- Creator:
- Hilliard, Emily
- Subject:
- Corn bread, foodways, Wild leek, Food habits, Bakers, Festivals, Helvetia (W. Va.)
- Location:
- Helvetia (W. Va.)
![["The Swiss community of Helvetia, West Virginia began hosting its annual ramp supper sometime between 1946-1948 (Helvetia native Ernest Hofer who has been working at the supper for at least 40 years, wasnt sure of the exact date). The event is a fundraiser, benefiting the Helvetia Community Hall Association and the Farm Womens Club. For weeks prior, volunteers, including local 4-H kids, work to wash and freeze 60 bushels of ramps, some of which are dug and donated by locals, and the rest are bought from a digger. On the Friday before the event, male volunteers gather outside to cook 400 lbs. of potatoes in iron kettles over a wood fire, while drinking homemade wine. Women volunteers work in the kitchen, cutting 300 lbs. of ham, making cornbread, cooking Navy beans, and defrosting ramps. The Helvetia Ramp Supper is always held the last Saturday in April and draws visitors from across the state and region. The dinner includes fried and fresh ramps, beans, ham, fried potatoes, applesauce, cornbread, coleslaw, drink, and dessert, which guests eat at long tables in the basement of the Helvetia Community Hall. After dinner, a square dance is held upstairs. The documentation of the Helvetia Ramp Supper 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, including the Ramp Supper, via The Bitter Southerner: https://bittersoutherner.com/my-year-in-helvetia-west-virginia and read her piece on the Ramp Supper via the West Virginia Folklife blog: https://wvfolklife.org/2016/05/27/rampfingerprints/For more information, visit: http://www.helvetiawv.com/Events/Helvetia_Ramps/Helvetia_Ramps.htm"]%](/image/4224HelvetiaRampSupperPhoto03542816/0.jpg)
- Identifier:
- 4224.HelvetiaRampSupper.Photo.035.4.28.16
- Title:
- Homemade desserts for the Helvetia Ramp Supper, 1 of 2
- Date:
- 2016-04-28
- Creator:
- Hilliard, Emily
- Subject:
- Wild leek, Cake, foodways, Helvetia (W. Va.), Festivals, Bakers, Food habits
- Location:
- Helvetia (W. Va.)
![["The Swiss community of Helvetia, West Virginia began hosting its annual ramp supper sometime between 1946-1948 (Helvetia native Ernest Hofer who has been working at the supper for at least 40 years, wasnt sure of the exact date). The event is a fundraiser, benefiting the Helvetia Community Hall Association and the Farm Womens Club. For weeks prior, volunteers, including local 4-H kids, work to wash and freeze 60 bushels of ramps, some of which are dug and donated by locals, and the rest are bought from a digger. On the Friday before the event, male volunteers gather outside to cook 400 lbs. of potatoes in iron kettles over a wood fire, while drinking homemade wine. Women volunteers work in the kitchen, cutting 300 lbs. of ham, making cornbread, cooking Navy beans, and defrosting ramps. The Helvetia Ramp Supper is always held the last Saturday in April and draws visitors from across the state and region. The dinner includes fried and fresh ramps, beans, ham, fried potatoes, applesauce, cornbread, coleslaw, drink, and dessert, which guests eat at long tables in the basement of the Helvetia Community Hall. After dinner, a square dance is held upstairs. The documentation of the Helvetia Ramp Supper 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, including the Ramp Supper, via The Bitter Southerner: https://bittersoutherner.com/my-year-in-helvetia-west-virginia and read her piece on the Ramp Supper via the West Virginia Folklife blog: https://wvfolklife.org/2016/05/27/rampfingerprints/For more information, visit: http://www.helvetiawv.com/Events/Helvetia_Ramps/Helvetia_Ramps.htm"]%](/image/4224HelvetiaRampSupperPhoto03642816/0.jpg)
- Identifier:
- 4224.HelvetiaRampSupper.Photo.036.4.28.16
- Title:
- Homemade desserts for the Helvetia Ramp Supper, 2 of 2
- Date:
- 2016-04-28
- Creator:
- Hilliard, Emily
- Subject:
- Helvetia (W. Va.), Cake, Food habits, Festivals, Wild leek, Bakers, foodways
- Location:
- Helvetia (W. Va.)
