Menu Expand Menu Close
Back to Top
Filter Search Expand Close Filter
Search Expand Search Close
["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/"]%

49. 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:
Old-time music, Fiddling, Fiddle tunes, Helvetia (W. Va.)
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/"]%

50. Vernon Burky and friends play a short fiddle tune at the Helvetia Community Fair

Identifier:
4224.BurkyVernon.Video.002.9.10.16
Title:
Vernon Burky and friends play a short fiddle tune at the Helvetia Community Fair
Date:
2016-09-10
Creator:
Hilliard, Emily
Subject:
Fiddling, Helvetia (W. Va.), Old-time music, Fiddle tunes
Location:
Helvetia (W. Va.)

Listen to Audio

51. Jim Costa plays the fiddle tune "Washington's March" on the West Virginia Humanities Council voicemail

Identifier:
4224.CostaJim.Music.9.25.17
Title:
Jim Costa plays the fiddle tune "Washington's March" on the West Virginia Humanities Council voicemail
Date:
2017-09-25
Creator:
Costa, Jim (Banjoist)
Contributor:
Hilliard, Emily
Subject:
Fiddling, Fiddle tunes, Hammons (Family : W. Va.)
Location:
Charleston (W. Va.), Summers County (W. Va.)
["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."]%

52. Dave Bing plays the fiddle tune "Golden Star Hornpipe"

Identifier:
4224.DaveBing.Video.002.6.21.17
Title:
Dave Bing plays the fiddle tune "Golden Star Hornpipe"
Date:
2017-06-21
Creator:
Bing, Dave, 1955-
Contributor:
Hilliard, Emily
Subject:
Hammons (Family : W. Va.), Old-time music, Bing, Dave, 1955-, Fiddle tunes, Fiddling, Folk music--West Virginia
Location:
Roane County (W. Va.)

Listen to Audio

53. Oral history of Ray Fought

Identifier:
4224.FoughtRay.AudioInt.9.25.17
Title:
Oral history of Ray Fought
Date:
2017-09-25
Creator:
Fought, Ray
Contributor:
Hilliard, Emily
Subject:
Parkersburg (W. Va.), woodworking, Fiddling, Old-time music, Fiddle tunes, Byrd, Robert C.
Location:
Parkersburg (W. Va.)
["Ray Fought is a self-taught fiddler and fiddle maker living in Parkersburg, West Virginia."]%

54. 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.)
["Ray Fought is a self-taught fiddler and fiddle maker living in Parkersburg, West Virginia."]%

55. Ray Fought among fiddles he made

Identifier:
4224.FoughtRay.Photo.001.9.25.17
Title:
Ray Fought among fiddles he made
Date:
2017-09-25
Creator:
Hilliard, Emily
Subject:
Old-time music, Bowed stringed instruments, Parkersburg (W. Va.), Fiddling, woodworking
Location:
Parkersburg (W. Va.)
["Ray Fought is a self-taught fiddler and fiddle maker living in Parkersburg, West Virginia."]%

56. Fiddles made by Ray Fought

Identifier:
4224.FoughtRay.Photo.002.9.25.17
Title:
Fiddles made by Ray Fought
Date:
2017-09-25
Creator:
Hilliard, Emily
Subject:
Fiddling, Bowed stringed instruments, woodworking, Parkersburg (W. Va.)
Location:
Parkersburg (W. Va.)
["Ray Fought is a self-taught fiddler and fiddle maker living in Parkersburg, West Virginia."]%

57. Ray Fought's deer antler fiddle hanger

Identifier:
4224.FoughtRay.Photo.003.9.25.17
Title:
Ray Fought's deer antler fiddle hanger
Date:
2017-09-25
Creator:
Fought, Ray
Contributor:
Hilliard, Emily
Subject:
woodworking, Parkersburg (W. Va.), Fiddling, Bowed stringed instruments
Location:
Parkersburg (W. Va.)
["Ray Fought is a self-taught fiddler and fiddle maker living in Parkersburg, West Virginia."]%

58. Various fiddles made by Ray Fought

Identifier:
4224.FoughtRay.Photo.004.9.25.17
Title:
Various fiddles made by Ray Fought
Date:
2017-09-25
Creator:
Hilliard, Emily
Subject:
Bowed stringed instruments, woodworking, Fiddling, Old-time music
Location:
Parkersburg (W. Va.)
["Ray Fought is a self-taught fiddler and fiddle maker living in Parkersburg, West Virginia."]%

59. Corner of Ray Fought's fiddle room

Identifier:
4224.FoughtRay.Photo.005.9.25.17
Title:
Corner of Ray Fought's fiddle room
Date:
2017-09-25
Creator:
Hilliard, Emily
Subject:
Parkersburg (W. Va.), woodworking, Old-time music, Bowed stringed instruments, Fiddling
Location:
Parkersburg (W. Va.)
["Ray Fought is a self-taught fiddler and fiddle maker living in Parkersburg, West Virginia."]%

60. Portrait of fiddle maker Ray Fought

Identifier:
4224.FoughtRay.Photo.006.9.25.17
Title:
Portrait of fiddle maker Ray Fought
Date:
2017-09-25
Creator:
Hilliard, Emily
Subject:
Old-time music, woodworking, Bowed stringed instruments, Fiddling
Location:
Parkersburg (W. Va.)