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![["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"]](/thumb/4224HelvetiaRampSupperPhoto02142816 "Bags of frozen ramps defrosting for the Helvetia Ramp Supper, 1 of 2")
- Identifier:
- 4224.HelvetiaRampSupper.Photo.021.4.28.16
- Title:
- Bags of frozen ramps defrosting for the Helvetia Ramp Supper, 1 of 2
- Date:
- 2016-04-28
- Creator:
- Hilliard, Emily
- Subject:
- foodways, Wild leek, Helvetia (W. Va.), Food habits, Festivals, and Forage plants
- Location:
- Helvetia (W. Va.)
Listen to Audio
- Identifier:
- 4224.HobbieLeenie.AudioInt.3.27.18
- Title:
- Oral history of Leenie Hobbie
- Date:
- 2018-03-27
- Creator:
- Hobbie, Leenie
- Contributor:
- Hilliard, Emily
- Subject:
- Herb gardening, Food habits, Forage plants, Herbs--Therapeutic use, Herbalists, foodways, Herbs--Utilization, and Herb products
- Location:
- Hampshire County (W. Va.)
![["Leenie Hobbie (b. December 28, 1960, Alexandria, VA) is an herbalist in Kirby (Rio post office box) in Hampshire County, West Virginia. Hobbie has been a family herbalist for over 30 years, originally learning the tradition from her grandmother, who used both garden-grown and wild harvested plants at her home in the mountains of Southwestern Virginia. She has studied with acclaimed herbalists across the country and has taught the tradition within her community in Hampshire County. Hobbie is a 2020-2021 participant in the West Virginia Folklife Apprenticeship Program, teaching traditional Appalachian herbalism to apprentice Jon Falcone.See the West Virginia Folklife Program's profile of Leenie Hobbie and Jon Falcone: https://wvfolklife.org/2020/10/26/2020-folklife-apprenticeship-feature-leenie-hobbie-jon-falcone-traditional-appalachian-herbalism/"]](/thumb/4224HobbieLeenieIntTranscript32718 "Transcript of oral history of Leenie Hobbie")
- Identifier:
- 4224.HobbieLeenie.IntTranscript.3.27.18
- Title:
- Transcript of oral history of Leenie Hobbie
- Date:
- 2018-03-27
- Creator:
- Hobbie, Leenie
- Contributor:
- Hilliard, Emily
- Subject:
- Herb products, Herbalists, Forage plants, Herbs--Therapeutic use, foodways, Herbs--Utilization, Food habits, and Herb gardening
- Location:
- Hampshire County (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.)
