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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. 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/"]

361. 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:
Burky, Sandy, Burky, Vernon, and Morgan, Thrayon
Contributor:
Hilliard, Emily and Whipp, David
Subject:
Helvetia (W. Va.), Eggs, Cooking (Sauerkraut), Cheesemaking, Waltz, Cooking (Sausages), Fiddling, Sawmills, Wine and wine making--United States, Maple syrup, Fiddle tunes, Cooking, Swiss, Square dance music--United States, and Canning and preserving
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/"]

362. 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:
Fiddle tunes, Fiddling, Helvetia (W. Va.), and Old-time music
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/"]

363. 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:
Helvetia (W. Va.), Fiddle tunes, Old-time music, and Fiddling
Location:
Helvetia (W. Va.)

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364. Oral history of John Butterworth

Identifier:
4224.ButterworthJohn.AudioInt.11.22.19
Title:
Oral history of John Butterworth
Date:
2019-11-22
Creator:
Butterworth, John
Contributor:
Henkin, Aaron and Hilliard, Emily
Subject:
Charleston (W. Va.), Discrimination in mortgage loans, Urban renewal, Country dancing, and City planning
Location:
Charleston (W. Va.)
["John Butterworth has been a neighborhood planner with the City of Charleston Planning Dept. for about four years. In this interview, he speaks about the history of Charlestons West Side in terms of how the citys plans and redlining impacted the neighborhood, the West Side of the present, and the citys plans for the future of the neighborhood. He also shared his personal approach to city planning.Butterworth was interviewed by producer Aaron Henkin with Emily Hilliard as part of the Out of the Blocks podcasts two episodes on Charlestons West Side. Learn more: https://wvfolklife.org/2020/01/17/out-of-the-blocks-podcast-highlights-charlestons-west-side-west-virginia-folklife-hosts-listening-party-february-12/"]

365. Transcript of oral history of John Butterworth

Identifier:
4224.ButterworthJohn.IntTranscript.11.22.19
Title:
Transcript of oral history of John Butterworth
Date:
2019-11-22
Creator:
Butterworth, John
Contributor:
Henkin, Aaron and Hilliard, Emily
Subject:
Discrimination in mortgage loans, City planning, Urban renewal, Charleston (W. Va.), and Country dancing
Location:
Charleston (W. Va.)
["John Butterworth has been a neighborhood planner with the City of Charleston Planning Dept. for about four years. In this interview, he speaks about the history of Charlestons West Side in terms of how the citys plans and redlining impacted the neighborhood, the West Side of the present, and the citys plans for the future of the neighborhood. He also shared his personal approach to city planning.Butterworth was interviewed by producer Aaron Henkin with Emily Hilliard as part of the Out of the Blocks podcasts two episodes on Charlestons West Side. Learn more: https://wvfolklife.org/2020/01/17/out-of-the-blocks-podcast-highlights-charlestons-west-side-west-virginia-folklife-hosts-listening-party-february-12/"]

366. Portrait of John Butterworth

Identifier:
4224.ButterworthJohn.Photo.001.11.22.19
Title:
Portrait of John Butterworth
Date:
2019-11-22
Creator:
Patrick, Wendel
Subject:
City planning
Location:
Charleston (W. Va.)

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367. Oral history of Bill Caldwell

Identifier:
4224.CaldwellBill.AudioInt.12.8.20
Title:
Oral history of Bill Caldwell
Date:
2020-12-08
Creator:
Caldwell, Bill
Contributor:
Hilliard, Emily
Subject:
Food habits, Food industry and trade--Employees, Collective bargaining--Service industries, Labor union locals, COVID-19 (Disease), Labor disputes--West Virginia, Supermarkets, Labor union members, and foodways
Location:
Charleston (W. Va.) and Teays Valley (W. Va. : Valley)
["Bill Caldwell (b. August 20, 1958) has worked at Charleston-area Kroger store for 44 years. He currently works at store 784 in Teays Valley as a meat cutter and has been a shop steward for United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 400 for 20-30 years. In this interview he speaks about recent contract negotiations with Kroger, union actions hes been involved in in the past, and his experience as a grocery store essential worker during the COVID-19 pandemic. This interview is part of a collection of interviews with UFCW member Kroger workers conducted remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic."]

368. Transcript of oral history of Bill Caldwell

Identifier:
4224.CaldwellBill.IntTranscript.12.8.20
Title:
Transcript of oral history of Bill Caldwell
Date:
2020-12-08
Creator:
Caldwell, Bill
Contributor:
Hilliard, Emily
Subject:
Food industry and trade--Employees, foodways, Supermarkets, Labor disputes--West Virginia, COVID-19 (Disease), Food habits, Labor union locals, Labor union members, and Collective bargaining--Service industries
Location:
Teays Valley (W. Va. : Valley) and Charleston (W. Va.)

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369. Oral history of Shirley A. Campbell, 1 of 3

Identifier:
4224.CampbellShirley.AudioInt.001.3.16.16
Title:
Oral history of Shirley A. Campbell, 1 of 3
Date:
2016-03-16
Creator:
Campbell, Shirley A.
Contributor:
Hilliard, Emily
Subject:
Reed, Ola Belle, 1916-2002, Women lyricists, Folk music--West Virginia, Country music, Gospel music, Folk poetry, American, and Working class--Songs and music
Location:
Charleston (W. Va.)

Listen to Audio

370. Oral history of Shirley A. Campbell, 2 of 3

Identifier:
4224.CampbellShirley.AudioInt.002.3.16.16
Title:
Oral history of Shirley A. Campbell, 2 of 3
Date:
2016-03-16
Creator:
Campbell, Shirley A.
Contributor:
Hilliard, Emily
Subject:
Women lyricists, Folk poetry, American, Reed, Ola Belle, 1916-2002, Gospel music, Country music, Working class--Songs and music, and Folk music--West Virginia
Location:
Charleston (W. Va.)

Listen to Audio

371. Oral history of Shirley A. Campbell, 3 of 3

Identifier:
4224.CampbellShirley.AudioInt.003.3.16.16
Title:
Oral history of Shirley A. Campbell, 3 of 3
Date:
2016-03-16
Creator:
Campbell, Shirley A.
Contributor:
Hilliard, Emily
Subject:
Gospel music, Working class--Songs and music, Country music, Folk poetry, American, Women lyricists, Folk music--West Virginia, and Reed, Ola Belle, 1916-2002
Location:
Charleston (W. Va.)

Listen to Audio

372. Oral history of Shirley A. Campbell

Identifier:
4224.CampbellShirley.AudioInt.4.26.16
Title:
Oral history of Shirley A. Campbell
Date:
2016-04-26
Creator:
Campbell, Shirley A.
Contributor:
Hilliard, Emily
Subject:
Country music, Gospel music, Folk poetry, American, Women lyricists, Reed, Ola Belle, 1916-2002, and Working class--Songs and music
Location:
Charleston (W. Va.)