Evening star., 1933-12-31
Subsistence Farmers Thrive
In Midst of Mountain Poverty
Vest Virginia Agricultural 4 Colony Is
+Surriring With Veil Stocked Larders
While Neigtbors Lire in Squalor.

the middle fork Of the Buckhannon
River, where Helvetia now nestles.
The story handed down Of that first
Winter in the new community is one
of unbelievable hardship. The six
families managed to put up a one-room
shelter, built from the forest, before
Winter set in, and they all lived in
that one room through the Winter.
Artisans Are Attracted.
In the Spring, with every one work.
ing, men, women and children, they
managed to clear six acres of land
and plant sort of community garden,
which produced enough food to see
them through. Each family also man
aged to provide some structure for
itself, and they scattered to the lands
they had bought. Other Swiss and
German families came drifting in and
established themselves on land and the
work of clearing away forest went on
more rapidly.
The community council, composed Of
all the adult members of the commu-
nifty, decided to set aside 100 acres in
the center of the community, where
the privilege of buying lots would be
given only to skilled workmen. In
this way a carpenter. a shoemaker and
other skilled artisans were attracted
to the community and the community
commenced to have fun-rounded, self
sustaining aspect. When not at their
trades, the artisans were out in the
fields working.
All the early settlers were of farm
stock from Germany and Switzerland
and adapted themselves to the new
land quickly, so that by 1875 it was a
thriving community, living, for the most
part, not in the community itself but
off in the mountains, with a general
store. post Office. church and school
house the only buildings in the town
proper. The farms were scattered
around the community for 10 miles or
more
They made their own furniture and
except for staple groceries, they pro-
duced everything they needed. Many
of the women spun and wove their hus-
bands and their Children'S clothing.
About once every six weeks a wagon
was sent to Clarksburg for the town s
necessary supplies and the trip usually
took about week. Between times, the
people managed with what they had.
Education Attended To.
One instance Is told by Mrs Frank
Huber, who runs the hotel at Helvetia,
of ingenious resort to the soil when
facilities were lacking. There were, on
the Huber farm. two patches of white
sandstone, which were the bane of her
fathers existence, for nothing would
grow about them and no earthly use
could be found for the stone, until one
day, lacking a brush, her mother ground
up some of the sandstone and used it
for cleaning. The community thus found
use for the stone, and for many years
the housewives of the community kept
quantities of the sand around the house
for "holy-stoning" the unpainted furni-
ture and floor.
There has been school in Helvetia
since its earliest days, and no child's
education has been neglected. The
grades in the town. and then are sent
to the high school at Pickens, a few
miles away. From there, the majority
have gone on to college, but some have
ended their education in high school
and returned to the farm to work as
did their fathers.
For many years DR.. c. F. Stuckey
administered to the illnesses Of the
populace, but there were very few ill
nesses, and it behooved him to move
away to a place where he could be
buster. Now if doctor is needed, a
doctor can be brought over from Pick
ems. although the roads into Helvetia
are not ideal for automobile travel,
being little more than bride paths wind
ing dangerously around the slopes OF
mountains. These reads present a