Historically, America stems from many different nationalities and cultures - mainly European stock. One of these foreign cultures is to be found in a small village in West Virginia - Helvetia. In October, 1869 ca. twenty Swiss men and women settled in this spot and named it "Helvetia" after their homeland. As a Swiss myself, the traditions of flag throwing, coin swinging and alphorn playing are well known to me, and I was much surprised to find these customs on American soil. One of the main goals of the population of Helvetia today is to continue these Swiss traditions.

I found out about the Bally sisters through the village residents: Martha, Anna, Gertrude and the twins, Rosa and Frieda. Of the five sisters, only Martha ever married. She now lives with her husband in a neighboring village and cares for Rosa and Gertrude who both suffer from Alzheimer's and are in need of constant care. When I visited Anna and Frieda, the two sisters still living out on the farm, I found out that these two old ladies, both in their 90s, had their farm running at full speed by themselves until just one year earlier! Between themselves, the Bally sisters spoke in a silent whispering manner, an old Appenzeller dialect that I could hardly understand.

Somewhere in the woods of West Virginia - all of a sudden a feeling of familiarity, an odor that reminds me of my childhood. Further down, in the woods, a stream. His smell reminds me of my grandfather in California who passed away a few years ago. Behind his house down in the creek I played and fished for trout. I lay down on the warm ground in the woods and let my memories run free. I miss him. Scents cannot be recorded on film, but what stays, are images of memories.