Eleanor and The Hutte

I explained on my last posting that I always cherish the meals at The Hutte [“little house” in Swiss–German] Restaurant in Helvetia. I also pointed out that both The Hutte and the Bee Keeper’s Inn are owned and operated by a truly special lady, Eleanor Mailloux. Eleanor grew up in Helvetia in the early1920s, left to travel the world with the American Red Cross, and came back in 1963 with her five children to help nurture the fragile culture of her childhood.

Helvetia is about as far away from anywhere as one can get in the southern Appalachians, which makes it hard to fathom how a small group of Swiss and German settlers, most of them professionals and tradesmen, were able to carve out a community here in 1869, in a stretch of West Virginia which, even today, looks like pure wilderness.

They came via Brooklyn, N.Y., lured by newspaper advertisements that proclaimed the immense natural beauty of the Mountain State. They managed, with some help from Scots-Irish neighbors, to establish farms and to learn to hunt and fish.

"They were under the impression there was a village here," says Eleanor, "But there wasn't. It was just wilderness." In 1875, Helvetia boasted a population of 308. Today the town itself is home to about 20 people, but about 125 more live on the outskirts, all of them descendants of the first settlers.

"There are only three or four pure Swiss left," Mailloux says. "Most of us are watered down."


In the comfortable, rambling restaurant, the Hutte serves some of the most divine Swiss cheese you'll ever taste. The antiques that line the walls — an old telephone switchboard, hundreds of dusty books on sloping shelves, old cradles, an antique organ and other furnishings — once belonged to Helvetia's residents.

I have included some photos of her luncheon meal we experienced one Easter Sunday. She fixed lamb and it was wonderful! (Many West Virginians are never tasted well-prepared lamb. Most turn up their nose and say, “I hate mutton!” A true morsel of lamb has never graced their taste buds.) Notice the eggs are colored using onionskins, which gives them that beautiful mahogany color. Typical fare includes fresh cheese, homemade bread, bratwurst, amazing sauerkraut made with her unique seasonings, and even the applesauce is a special recipe closely guarded by Eleanor. Eleanor is an amazing person whose energy is awesome.