702 ft (214 m) Time zone: UTC-5 (Eastern (EST)) Summer : UTC-4 (EDT) GNIS ID: 1549599: Blue is an unincorporated community in Tyler County, West Virginia, United States. Feb. 22, 2012 -- Benjamin "Benjy" Stacy so frightened maternity doctors with the color of his skin -- "as Blue as Lake Louise" -- that he was rushed just hours after his birth in 1975 to . Blue People of Kentucky Why the Fugate Family Had Blue SkinA Frenchman arrived in Kentucky in 1820, bringing with him his strange blue skin. Benjy lost his blue tint within a few weeks, and now he is about as normal looking a seven-year-old boy as you could hope to find. It run in that generation who lived up and down Ball [Creek]., They looked like anybody else, cept they had the blue color, Stacy says, sitting in a chair in his plaid flannel shirt and suspenders, next to a cardboard box where a small black piglet, kept as a pet, is squealing for his bottle. "They vary in color from white to black, often have blue eyes and straight hair, and they are generally industrious. You could tell how much it bothered them to be blue.. The blue skin gene is a recessive gene that only appears when both parents are carriers of the gene. Blue human aren't possible. Laughing, the Informant launched into a story of the West Virginia Blue People, a story about a genetic condition the resulted from intermarriage. Today I have a healthy son/nephew who is slightly green in skincolor. Hearing this story and conducting some research of my own led me to believe that people love to come up with their explanation for things they cannot explain, no matter how perplex. RoadSnacks is reader-supported. Hilda Stacy (nee Godsey) is fiercely protective of her son. All lived in isolation from the world, bunched in log cabins up and down the hollows, and so it was only natural that a boy married the girl next door, even if she had the same last name. Methemoglobinemia is a blood condition, not a skin condition. Her name was Ruth Pendergrass, and she had been trying to stir up medical interest in the blue people ever since a dark blue woman walked into the county health department one bitterly cold afternoon and asked for a blood test. There are still blue people around today, but some of them developed their blueness from ingesting colloidal silver. Intermarrying with people other than close relatives meant the likelihood of any Fugate descendant being born with the condition reduced. The gold of the helmet did not reflect the gold utilized in our colors today. While in the hills, Cawein drove over to see Zach (Big Man) Fugate, the 76-year-old patriarch of the clan on Troublesome Creek. The Northfork High School "Blue Demons" were a force to be reckoned with from 1971 to 1984, setting national records including most consecutive state championships. Of their seven children, four were blue. That total makes West Virginia the 38th most populous state in the country. No mention of his skin color is made in the early histories of the area, but family lore has it that Martin himself was blue. Population: 7,164 Mobile home parks per capita: 2nd in West Virginia Bars per capita: 2nd in the state Walmart rank: 3rd Elkins is way out in the middle of nowhere south of Morgantown, at the base of the Appalachians. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Stereotypes about West Virginian breeding practices have long been linked to the states poverty. It is the color of oxygen-depleted blood seen in the blue veins just below the skin. The Registered Agent on file for this company is Mikeooney. GreenPower Motor Co. to begin manufacturing at South Charleston, West Virginia facility 'this quarter' Hot and cold: Up and down weather calls for adaptation for West Virginia's ski destinations; Morgantown (West Virginia) business owner who pleaded guilty to Jan. 6 charges sued along with Trump; This Week in West Virginia History The enzyme eventually builds to normal levels in most children and to almost normal levels in those like Benjy, who carry one gene. Blow your mind. When Two Strangers Lost the Genetic Lottery Martin Fugate arrived in the unsettled frontier of Kentucky in 1820. 2,999 100 . Some sites say 100%. It is bordered by Pennsylvania to the north, Maryland and Virginia to the east, Kentucky to the southwest, and Ohio to the northwest. I was actually born with my twin sisters fetus inside me. Cawein advised giving the child methylene blue and not worrying about it. The state capital is Charleston. Benjamin Stacy was the last of the Fugate family members to have blue skin and lived a healthy life. The small coal mining town in McDowell County received national attention. Besides the number of bars, mobile home parks and places to buy shotguns, its at the base of the hills, where you know the deer and turkey probably walk right into town. Levy married a Ritchie girl and bought 200 acres of rolling land along Ball Creek. '"He was almost purple,"' his father, Alva Stacy, recalls." What Happened to the Blue People? Feeder food: Grain and birdseed. They have the 2nd most bars and the 2nd most trailer/mobile home parks per capita in the state. Benjy Stacy is one of the last of the blue Fugates. When you click through real estate links on our site, we earn an affiliate commission. Upon discovering the blue members of the Fugate family were perfectly healthy in every other way, Cawein decided to try some experiments to see if the blue color could be treated. And when you look at the data, its clear this is a really solid place for a redneck to make home. Got a question about todays news? Green human are possible. Researchers believe this to truly be the case, a result of the family suffering from a genetic condition called methemoglobinemia, which is an excess of methemoglobin in the red blood cells of the body. He married Elizabeth Smith, who carried a recessive gene for a genetic condition called methemoglobinemia, which gives those who have it blue-toned skin, even though they are otherwise perfectly healthy. In the 1880s and 1890s, writers such as Mary Noailles Murfree and John Fox Jr. traveled across Appalachia, looking for local color, and overstated the degree to which mountain populations lived in isolation. The search for blue people ensued. Google Maps. He had to drive eight hours back to Hazard to search out the Ritchies, who lived in a tapped-out mining town called Hardburly. Chasing Chains, LLC. By the time theyd get to the top, the person would be gone. WHEELING, W.Va. (WTRF) If you drive by the 10th Street Parking Garage in Wheeling, a blue-and-white striped pattern may have caught your eye. Typically, the blue is isolated to one part of the body. Oh, and they had blue skin. yes, saw that years ago, colloidal silver, damn asshole medias, just state facts, you can prove., thanks for this honest reply. Cawein would have no part of it, and he related with glee the news that a film crew sent to Kentucky from Hollywood fled the two mean dogs in every front yard without any film. Her name was Ruth Pendergrass, and she had been trying to stir up medical interest in the blue people ever since a dark blue woman walked into the county health department one bitterly cold afternoon and asked for a blood test. Most lived to their 80s and 90s without serious illness associated with the skin discoloration. God Bless America. Martin and Elizabeth Fugates blue children multiplied in this natural isolation tank. Additional comment actions. Diet: Insects, seeds, and grains. "The True Story of the Blue People of Kentucky" Born Jan. 16, 1869, in Marion County, Ephraim Franklin Morgan went on to become one of West Virginia's governors. Some sources claim their are no blue . Have you ever heard the song, Blue Moon of Kentucky? Its pretty well-known and popular. Well, according to the official bible of literature, the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, a redneck is: A white person who lives in a small town or in the country especially in the southern U.S., who typically has a working-class job, and who is seen by others as being uneducated and having opinions and attitudes that are offensive.. The reasons for this almost have to do entirely with coal. Thankfully, Benjy lost his blue shade after a few weeks and the only lingering effects were blue fingernails and lips when he was cold or angry. In 1980, a counter-intuitive solution was discovered where the blue person drinks a chemical-filled solution that is itself blue. Two YouTubers have shared an inside look into Odd as they documented themselves traveling down a windy two-lane road. Patrick was all hunched down in the hall. The clan kept multiplying. I'm going to assume that by blu. Oxygen, or a lack of oxygen, is what turns the blood from red to blue in people with methemoglobinemia. Methemoglobinemia can also be caused by reactions to certain topical pain relievers like benzocaine and xylocaine. Major Occupational Groups in West Virginia ( Note --clicking a link will scroll the page to the occupational group): 00-0000 All Occupations 11-0000 Management Occupations 13-0000 Business and Financial Operations Occupations 15-0000 Computer and Mathematical Occupations 17-0000 Architecture and Engineering Occupations Art Museum of West Virginia University, McGee Gallery View map. His two room log cabin sits in the middle of Laurel Fork Hollow. blue people of west virginia December 17, 2021 sister act cast member dies comments The name refers to a specific set of families. They were delighted.". The Blue Ridge Mountains are a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian Mountains range. They just accepted it as a part of who they were. They sing in the Stacy Family Gospel Band and have provided their children with a beautiful home and a menagerie of pets, including horses. When young people started moving away from the farms surrounding Troublesome Creek in the mid-20th century, they took their recessive blue genes with them. West Virginia Get facts and photos about the 35th state. Because of the dispersion of fluids, the solution only lasts for about a day so the carrier would have to drink a serving every day. The company's principal address is Tuckers Run Rd . Little Blue Run in Chester West Virginia is gone 8/8/2004: The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review writes about Little Blue Run: Dangerous disposal, by Alyson Walls . However, only 89% are white, and a whopping 83% finished high school. The solution, oddly enough, was a commonly used dye called methylene blue. Mountain People. 1 talking about this. Legend has it that Martin himself may have had a blue tinge to his skin, but not the dark blue color of later Fugates. They took the doctor to see their uncle, who was blue, too. We use data, analytics, and a sense of humor to determine the dirt on places across the country. Blue People of West Virginia | . The last known "blue" Fugate descendant was born in 1975. Apparently, it shows more easily when theyre cold!. In the Inuit communities, scientists had pinpointed the problem, a deficiency of an enzyme that converted methemoglobin to hemoglobin. This information supplied by John Graves whose uncle was the father of the child. Funding was made available through a $75 million facilities bond, $25 million in private donations through the Mountaineer Athletic Club and $6 million from West Virginia's multimedia rights contract with IMG. This genetic defect comes from a rare recessive gene, so most people arent affected by it unless they happen to reproduce with another person who carries it. It was painful. Two days of tests produced no explanation for skin the color of a bruised plum. The female's primary color is light cinnamon with darker-colored wings. Generations later, a descendant of Martin Fugate, Benjy Stacy, would be born "blue". It was later discovered ascorbic acid can do this, as well. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. The Blue Ridge Mountains In West Virginia Were Named One Of The 50 Most Beautiful Places In The World We all know the Blue Ridge Mountains in West Virginia are stunning, and it's about time the rest of the world took notice. It is almost certain that Martin was a descendant of the Fugate family of Russell County, Virginia and probably of French origin. He injected the Ritchie siblings with 100 milligrams of the blue dye and didn't have to wait long to see results. The 2010 survey revealed that there were 1,852,994 people living in West Virginia, which represented a modest rise of just 2.5% on the numbers declared at the 2000 census. (Martian Survivors). When Eleanor Roosevelt visited West Virginia mining towns in the 1930s, national newspapers ran pictures of rundown shacks and barefoot kids in rags, which left a lasting impression of the state as a backwater. The entry was on the blue men, not of West Virginia, but of the Mountain State's neighbor, Kentucky, . Admitted to the union as the 35th state in 1863, it is a relatively small state. When you look at the numbers, its clear that most of Moundsville is a buncha fun-lovin rednecks. West Virginia: County: Tyler: Elevation. 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