Swiss Hit
Tiny West Virginia Town Serves a Heap of Hospitality
Story and Photography by Nancy Luse
HELVETIA, W.Va.—My friend Becky has a special affection for Switzerland, starting with the Brown Swiss cows her family once raised, her selection as the 1982 National Swiss Miss and her wedding in the Alps. Years ago, she heard about Helvetia, this speck of a village in West Virginia settled by Swiss immigrants shortly after the Civil War.
She and her husband skidded through snow on twisty mountain roads to spend their wedding anniversary in the Beekeeper Inn here and dine at the Hutte Restaurant with its Swiss-inspired menu. Her fascination with the town, in turn, enticed me to repeated visits to the area located a little more than four hours from Frederick.
Helvetia sits south of Morgantown, surrounded by mountains and places where farms have been carved out. The Buckhannon River runs through the town center, spanned by a small bridge with railings decorated with flower boxes.
A one-room Presbyterian church has a bell that tolls the hours between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. and a general store with post office provides necessities because the nearest grocery store is a good hour away. Emily Hilliard, who wrote a piece for her website www.bittersoutherner.com chronicling a year in the town, describes Helvetia as “an hour from anywhere.”
Recently, my family decided to explore West Virginia and naturally Helvetia was on the itinerary, preceded by a visit to the Beckley Exhibition Coal Mine to travel in a coal car through what was once a working mine. The guides, former miners, talked about life underground, with our guide having us sing Sixteen Tons and Working in a Coal Mine.
Before leaving Beckley, we called Beekeeper owner Heidi Arnett to let her know when we would be arriving. Arnett also runs the Hutte Restaurant, which was closed that evening, so she suggested we bring our own dinner.
It was dark when we pulled into Helvetia, the roar of the river the only sound. But a light burned at the inn making us feel welcome. The two-story bed-and-breakfast is in one of the town’s oldest buildings, circa 1870, and was home to the town’s first beekeeper. It has three bedrooms with private baths, a large living room and kitchen. It’s the only lodging in town, so it’s important to reserve early, especially around Helvetia’s many festivals.
Oh, the festivals.
For such a small village—the 2020 census counts 38 people, roughly the number who lived here when the town was settled—folks pull out all the stops for a variety of celebrations that span generations and bring in visitors from all over.
Earlier this year the town celebrated Fasnacht, held the Saturday before the start of Lent, where you eat calorie-laden food, listen to traditional music and parade around in homemade masks to chase away Old Man Winter. If you missed Fasnacht, visit a collection of masks in a museum in the general store.
Next up is the annual Ramp Supper, held the last Saturday of this month. This rite of spring is held throughout Appalachia when folks go out and dig up ramp bulbs that are a cross between garlic, leeks and dandelion greens. Preparation is labor intensive; not only do you have to harvest the ramps, but they are hard as the dickens to clean.
Local resident Kay Howes recalls how she and her family would routinely dig 65 bushels of ramps to contribute to the festival.
At the supper, tables are ganged together so that it’s like a giant Sunday family dinner with folks passing dishes down the line. Local cooks serve up country ham, fried potatoes, corn bread, coleslaw, beans, applesauce and the star of the show, ramps fried in bacon fat. All that consumption is followed by a lively square dance. The town also has a community fair in the fall, observes the Swiss national holiday in the summer and hosts Feast of St. Nicholas Day in December.
Both Howes and Arnett appreciate the beauty of their surroundings and the attention Helvetia receives from the outside world, but as Arnett says, “my favorite part is the people that live here.”
www.helvetiawv.com