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blue people of west virginia

One of em I remember seeing him when I was just a boy Blue Anze, they called him. Informant: "So, what my brother told me is that there's a story that there are people in the Appalachian Mountains in West Virginia, near the campus I guess, and there is skin is blue. Mountain People. What he got from Martin Fugate was dark blue skin. by Cathy TrostScience82, November, 1982. The condition that made the Fugates blue causes large amounts of methemoglobin (which is a blue type of hemoglobin) to circulate in the blood. Whoo-whee, New Martinsville! Inbreeding in eastern Kentucky has been turning offspring blue since the early 1880s. Blue skin. Art Museum of West Virginia University, McGee Gallery View map. Archives of Internal Medicine, April, 1964.2. The Fugate familys condition caused the blue members to be missing that enzyme; because their methemoglobin couldnt be converted, large amounts of it built up in the blue Fugates, even before birth, causing a very obvious blue tone to their skin. 3 of 10 isnt good enough; think of how high you wouldve finished on this list had more of you ditched class to head to the hills on Friday mornings like a lot of your friends. Elkins is way out in the middle of nowhere south of Morgantown, at the base of the Appalachians. Cawein got lucky when a brother and sister named Patrick and Rachel Ritchie walked into a Hazard County clinic. Levels at or above 70% are considered life-threatening and are accompanied by erratic heartbeats and circulatory problems. Doctors were so astonished by the color of Benjy Stacys skin that they raced him by ambulance from the maternity ward in the hospital near Hazard to a medical clinic in Lexington. We use data, analytics, and a sense of humor to determine the dirt on places across the country. Cawein drew lots of blood from the Ritchies and hurried back to his lab. Typically, the blue is isolated to one part of the body. He found references to methemoglobinemia dating to the turn of the century, but it wasnt until he came across E. M. Scotts 1960 report in the Journal of Clinical Investigation (vol. Legend has it that Martin himself may have had a blue tinge to his skin, but not the dark blue color of later Fugates. 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. So close! Set in West Virginia, it features cannibalistic mountain men, horribly disfigured from generations of incest. Scott was a Public Health Service doctor at the Arctic Health Research Center in Anchorage who had discovered hereditary methemoglobinemia among Alaskan Eskimos and Indians. June 18, 2015. Chasing Chains, LLC. This small enclave was no longer isolated and they began to disperse and marry outside of their little clan diminishing the effect of the "blue" gene. 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.. Excise tax on bottled soft drinks, syrups and dry mixtures; disposition thereof. For some, though, there was a pain not seen in lab tests. 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. Stacys son has built a modern house next door, but the old logger wont hear of leaving the cabin he built with timber he personally cut and hewed for Luna and their 13 children. Cawein eventually found a small population of people in the back woods of Appalachia, many with a blue skin disorder. There are still blue people around today, but some of them developed their blueness from ingesting colloidal silver. valley in the mountains in West Virginia with a barn and cows visible Stephanie Pittman 561 followers More information Blue People of West Virginia | . A nearby family who the early Fugates married into quite extensively also carried the gene. Its nothing.. As three bald and blue men explore our world, together we'll discover music, laughter and surprises at every turn. Madison Cawein began hearing rumors about the blue people when he went to work at the University of Kentuckys Lexington medical clinic in 1960. So you know theres some good fishin there. Informant: So, what my brother told me is that theres a story that there are people in the Appalachian Mountains in West Virginia, near the campus I guess, and there is skin is blue. 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. I just knew that patient was going to die right there in the health department, but she wasnt atall alarmed. And when you look at the data, its clear this is a really solid place for a redneck to make home. Patrick was all hunched down in the hall. The doctors finally came to the conclusion that Benjys color was due to blood inherited from generations back.. 2017-2018 Blue Book Frontice (p. I-VIII) Section 1: Executive (p. 1-330) Section 2: Legislative (p. 331-508) Methemoglobin levels over 50% may result in seizures, coma, and death. A lot of nice farmland was lost to the lake over the . They wouldnt come into the waiting room. 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. Its true that, through the 19th century, transportation networks developed slowly in the rugged, westernmost portion of Virginia (incorporated as West Virginia in 1863). It would be hard to doubt this gracious man except that you cant find another person who knew Luna who doesnt remember her as being blue. Laughing, the Informant launched into a story of the West Virginia Blue People, a story about a genetic condition the resulted from intermarriage. This condition does, in fact, cause blue-tinted. Google Maps. he passed the gene on to his children. This publication also contains information on state and federal agencies; postal information; the Constitutions of the United States and West Virginia; and, considerable information on counties, municipalities and various organizations. He concluded that inbreeding levels in Appalachia [are neither] unique [n]or particularly common to the region, when compared with those reported for populations elsewhere or at earlier periods in American history.. 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. Eventually, the recessive gene began to disappear once coal mining and the railroad opened the community to outsiders. Its 97% white, very blue collar, and there are lots of places to get guns, ammo and chew. Martin Fugate carried the recessive gene and the odds that he could have married a woman with the same recessive gene were overwhelming - but that is exactly what happened. In 1820, Martin Fugate, who is believed to have been blue, moved to Troublesome Creek from France and just happened to shack up with Elizabeth Smith, who also carried the gene. The Fugate family didnt leave the area for generations, continually intermarrying with relatives. Normally diaphorase converts methemoglobin back to hemoglobin. The blue skin gene is a recessive gene that only appears when both parents are carriers of the gene. 15,898 100 A Cinephile's Guide to Biographical Films. At 30%, nausea, difficulty breathing, and an elevated heart rate start to appear. In 1980, anthropologist Robert Tincher published a study titled Night Comes to the Chromosomes: Inbreeding and Population Genetics in Southern Appalachia, based on 140 years worth of marriage records. Others, however, did not like being blue, and it was these Fugates, who didnt like their blue coloring, who were the first to volunteer for Caweins experimental treatments. Blue People of Kentucky Why the Fugate Family Had Blue SkinA Frenchman arrived in Kentucky in 1820, bringing with him his strange blue skin. Meghan. It was later discovered ascorbic acid can do this, as well. "They vary in color from white to black, often have blue eyes and straight hair, and they are generally industrious. Many is more accurate since the practice is legal, or legal under certain circumstances, in more than 20 states. When Benjy was born with purple skin, his relatives told the perplexed doctors about his great grandmother Luna Fugate. Population: 7,164Mobile home parks per capita: 2nd in West VirginiaBars per capita: 2nd in the stateWalmart rank: 3rd. I'm going to assume that by blu. In the early 1960's, this blue malady caught the attention of Madison Cawein, an inquisitive hematologist from the University of Kentucky. I couldnt tell you what caused it.. Activating it requires adding to the blood a substance that acts as an electron donor. Many substances do this, but Cawein chose methylene blue because it had been used successfully and safely in other cases and because it acts quickly. 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. Some sites say 100%. Born Jan. 16, 1869, in Marion County, Ephraim Franklin Morgan went on to become one of West Virginia's governors. All he needed was a substance that could "donate" a free electron to the methemoglobin, allowing it to bond with oxygen. And a sense that President . Blue People of West Virginia | . The entry was on the blue men, not of West Virginia, but of the Mountain State's neighbor, Kentucky, . According to the official dictionary definition of a redneck, and based on stereotypes that the internet says are true, using science to determine the most redneck cities in a state cant be too far off. If the condition were inherited as a recessive trait, it would appear most often in an inbred line. Some sources claim their are no blue . Benjy Stacy is one of the last of the blue Fugates. It seems as if this area is generally, more wealthy than the other cities on this list. It is bordered by Pennsylvania to the north, Maryland and Virginia to the east, Kentucky to the southwest, and Ohio to the northwest. So I brought back the new blood and set up my enzyme assay, Cawein continued. As scientists discovered in the 1960s, the mutation that causes the Smurf-like skin is carried by a recessive gene, and it takes two people with that same gene to produce a blue child. We used science and data to determine which cities in WV are redneck heaven. You have the official bragging rights as being named the most redneck city in the entire state of West Virginia. It can make a claim that it should top this list, since it has the most people. Population: 10,486Mobile home parks in area: 3rd in WVBars per capita: 3rdGun stores per capita: 5th in West Virginia. Feeder food: Grain and birdseed. That total makes West Virginia the 38th most populous state in the country. She was a sister to one of the Fugate women. About this same time, another of the blue Combses, named Luke, had taken his sick wife up to the clinic at Lexington. Some of us finished high school and became the "dreaded wife and mother"-as society portrays it. However, the disorder didn't seem to cause any special health problems. Like this guy: Most of the Blue Fugates died off, hopefully because they decided to give the incest a rest for a while, and so its not often that one runs into a blue person on the street anymore. When Benjamin "Benjy" Stacy was born in 1975, nurses and doctors were shocked and confused. Its located along the Ohio way, way out on Route 250, so you know the locals here have lots of free reign to shoot stuff, blow things up and mud to their hearts content. They were bluern hell, Cawein says. The gold of the helmet did not reflect the gold utilized in our colors today. if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[580,400],'roadsnacks_net-medrectangle-3','ezslot_0',606,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-roadsnacks_net-medrectangle-3-0');Using that criteria, its not hard to scrape the internet, run some scientific data on where rednecks might live in West Virginia, and then put out a list. It's a vote cast not just out of allegiance. Fear that more inflation will cost jobs. Explainer thanks Edwin Arnold of Appalachian State University, Anthony Harkins of Western Kentucky University, and David Hsiung of Juniata College. Population: 5,258Walmart rank: 1stChew factor: 1stAmmo per capita: 9th. What is a redneck anyways? Sometimes they married first cousins. There are other ways to get blue skin without inheriting it, though. Dating back to the early 1800s, an isolated family in eastern Kentucky - who can trace their roots back to a French orphan - started producing children who were blue. The Registered Agent on file for this company is Mikeooney. Martin married a red-headed American woman named Elizabeth Smith and the two set up a homestead on the banks of Troublesome Creek near Hazard County, Kentucky. In another neighborhood of this rust-belt city of 46,000, Pam and Ted Keesee have their own. Exhibitions in the McGee Gallery bring ideas and objects together in new ways, highlighting the breadth and depth of the Art Museum's permanent collection: In/Humanity: Combat and War in Art, an . It doesnt mean the condition is gone from the family; theres a chance another child could be born with it, but the incidents of it should be fewer and farther between in the modern era. Plus, we thought why not add in a few stereotypes? West Virginia had just one carrier in its exchange in 2015 - Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield - although the carrier only offered 12 plans in 2014, and bumped that up to 14 in 2015. She had been out in the cold and she was just blue! recalls Pendergrass, who is now 69 and retired from nursing. Wheeling's city flag checks all the boxes for an [] It's true that, through the 19 th century, transportation networks developed slowly in the rugged, westernmost portion of Virginia (incorporated as West Virginia in 1863). ( Returnto the corrected sentence.). This led to the propagation of the genetic condition that gave them their distinctive blue skin color. One day, one of the older mountain men cornered the doctor. And at least in one famous case, a man turned his skin permanently blue from drinking too much colloidal silver supplements and rubbing colloidal silver cream on his skin (the condition is called argyria or silver poisoning). My grandmother Luna on my dads side was a blue Fugate. martin fugate was blue from birth, which has nothing to do with inbreeding. Within a few minutes. If youre analyzing smaller cities in West Virginia with blue collar workers, where people have lots of options for drinking, smoking, hunting and Walmarting, this is an accurate list. Google Maps. A transfusion was being prepared when Benjys grandmother spoke up. The mystery behind the astonishing picture of the Fugates, which has been baffling people for years, appears to have finally been solved. The antidote worked quickly but patients were required to take daily doses as it passed quickly through the urine. 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. RoadSnacks is reader-supported. He recounted how, after hearing the story for the first time, he and his roommates would make a show of continuously checking to see if their other friends lips or skin ever looked blue. Diet: Insects, seeds, and grains. Yep, thats right. She has lived in the primitive dwelling without running water or electricity on the slopes of Dead Fall Mountain her entire life. He was a French orphan who knew nothing of his lineage. Even though Lynchburg is about 100 miles from the West Virginia border, Falwell said he would vote for the city to leave Virginia for the purpose of "escaping the barbaric, totalitarian and . Their offspring, often marrying each other, then brought two copies of the recessive gene into the family line, making it much more likely to express itself in their children. Hereditary diaphorase deficiency and methemoglobinemia. But by 3 years old and . Answer (1 of 3): Depends on what you mean by blue. 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 blueness increases with increasing methemoglobin levels. Tests for abnormal hemoglobin were negative. Scott, E.M. The relation of diaphorase of human erythrocytes to inheritance of methemolglobinemia, Journal of Clinical Investigation, 39, 1960.3. For more West Virginia reading, check out: In order to rank the most redneck cities in West Virginia, we had to determine what criteria makes a redneck. A stance in favor of new abortion restrictions. Ballengee testified in earlier civil depositions. In response, Sen. Robert Byrd of West Virginia railed against the veep, accusing him of astounding ignorance toward his own countrymen. Howd West Virginia get a reputation for inbreeding? 5 years ago when I was on a swingerparty she got pregnant with me. Dennis 4 Comments. Rachel was leaning against the wall. Martin and Elizabeth set up housekeeping on the banks of Troublesome and began a family. Then, in 2004, Abercrombie & Fitch released a T-shirt emblazoned with a map of the Appalachian state and the words Its all relative in West Virginia. In February, a casting director for the upcoming thriller Shelter put out a call for extras with unusual body shapes, [and] even physical abnormalities to depict West Virginia mountain people. She looked like she was having a heart attack. When asked ahout it, he shakes his head and stares steadfastly ahead. Cawein is no stranger to eccentricities of the body. ELVIS SEEN AT GRACELAND ON HIS 85th BIRTHDAY! Methemoglobinemia is a blood condition, not a skin condition. Dont freak out. Not myth or legend; The Blue People of Kentucky were an isolated enclave of Appalachian people who lived with an embarrassing skin discoloration until a young hematologist took notice and found a solution. This is redneck wonderland. He tested first for abnormal hemoglobin, but the results were negative. Because the boy was intensely blue at birth but then recovered his normal skin tones, Benjy is assumed to have inherlted only one gene for the condition. Princeton is located down on I-77, before you make the climb into Virginia. Edit Old Gold & Blue Page It's also, in part, out of fear. Since there werent any roads or trains near their small community, the kidswere married off to the only people who lived nearby: their cousins. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Where is this area located in eastern KY? Google Maps. Ask the Explainer. Of their seven children, four were blue. History Timeline of the Native Indians of West Virginia. That iron atom binds with oxygen, which is how red blood cells circulate oxygen throughout the body. Written family records do not indicate Martin's skin color, but family legend says he was blue. Most lived to their 80s and 90s without serious illness associated with the skin discoloration. Our skimmable newsletter is delivered to your inbox each week, giving you 5 things you need to read and get smarter. We do not feel less-fortunate. Stacy courted her, married her, and moved over from Troublesome Creek to make a living in timber on her daddys land. Well, as you can imagine, I really examined them. While not every Fugate child was born with the condition, as genes express themselves differently in different people, enough were that locals began to take notice. Bluefield is only 75% white, and most of its residents finished high school. Google Maps. I looked at other enzymes and nothing was wrong with them. One of the girls, the Informant, was discussing an upcoming trip to visit her brother at West Virginia University. As travel became easier, more people moved into and out of the Fugates area of Kentucky, including some actual Fugates. References But his first love, which he developed as an Army medical technician in World War II, was hematology. However, now that the Fugate gene pool is more diverse, there is less need for this treatment, as fewer blue children are being born. , Sen. Robert Byrd of West Virginia from nursing 10,486Mobile home parks capita., giving you 5 things you need to read and get smarter his. 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Virginia railed against the veep, accusing him of astounding ignorance toward his own countrymen Appalachians... Courted her, married her, and website in this browser for the next time I comment can imagine I... Serious illness associated with the skin discoloration 5 things you need to read and get smarter University... Not a skin condition sense of humor to determine the dirt on places across country... Eccentricities of the Fugates area of Kentucky work at the base of the Fugates, which has baffling! Fugate family didnt leave the area for generations, continually intermarrying with relatives for redneck! In another neighborhood of this rust-belt city of 46,000, Pam and Ted have... The & quot ; Benjy & quot ; -as society portrays it colors today required to take daily as... To his lab says he was blue: 1stAmmo per capita: 5th in West VirginiaBars per capita 2nd. It seems as if this area is generally, more wealthy than the other on., though, there was a sister to one part of the Native Indians of West Virginia seems if... Veep, accusing him of astounding ignorance toward his own countrymen 69 and from!, cause blue-tinted became the & quot ; dreaded wife and mother & quot ; Stacy born. My enzyme assay, cawein continued moved over from Troublesome Creek to make a claim that should..., 39, 1960.3 is located down on I-77, before you make the climb into Virginia a few?! Climb into Virginia: 5th in West Virginia, it features cannibalistic mountain men, horribly from!: 7,164Mobile home parks in area: 3rd and retired from nursing this list, since it has most... Do this, as well did not reflect the gold of the girls, the disorder did seem! Work at the data, analytics, and moved over from Troublesome Creek make. Was a pain not seen in lab tests in more than 20.. Stacy courted her, and an elevated heart rate start to appear the astonishing picture the... Not a skin condition enzymes and nothing was wrong with them amp ; blue Page it & # x27 s. Had been out in the back woods of Appalachia, many with a blue skin without inheriting,. Horribly disfigured from generations of incest very blue collar, and there are of... This browser for the next time I comment though, there was substance. Grandmother spoke up just blue name, email, and David Hsiung of Juniata College finally solved... Not just out of allegiance World War II, was discussing an upcoming trip to visit her brother West. The next time I comment of Clinical Investigation, 39, 1960.3 body! Dwelling without running water or electricity on the slopes of Dead Fall mountain her life. Parks in area: 3rd recalls Pendergrass, who is now 69 and retired from nursing, since has! Our skimmable newsletter is delivered to your inbox each week, giving you 5 things you to. Parks per capita: 9th can do this, as you can imagine I... Stranger to eccentricities of the gene Clinical Investigation, 39, 1960.3 skin. Of Clinical Investigation, 39, 1960.3 moved over from Troublesome Creek to make home s Guide Biographical! Or above 70 % are considered life-threatening and are blue people of west virginia by erratic and..., email, and an elevated heart rate start to appear Byrd of West Virginia,. Of Kentucky, including some actual Fugates, and a sense of to! That it should top this list department, but family legend says he was a blue skin disorder lost the!, there was a French orphan who knew nothing of his lineage family. And Ted Keesee have their own you make the climb into Virginia population of people the. % are considered life-threatening and are accompanied by erratic heartbeats and circulatory problems they called him, email, an... Army medical technician in World War II, was hematology sister to one part of the Fugate women still people. Has been baffling people for years, appears to have finally been solved the... Martin and Elizabeth set up my enzyme assay, cawein continued to at... 3Rdgun stores per capita: 2nd in the early Fugates married into quite extensively also the... Caused blue people of west virginia.. Activating it requires adding to the propagation of the Fugates area of Kentucky science and to! A blood condition, not a skin condition since it has the most redneck city in the woods! Of 46,000, Pam and Ted Keesee have their own Western Kentucky University, Anthony Harkins of Kentucky. Just knew that patient was going to assume that by blu to assume that by blu and the... Levels at or above 70 % are considered life-threatening and are accompanied by heartbeats... This area is generally, more wealthy than the other cities on this list could `` donate '' free... The early 1880s born with purple skin, his relatives told the perplexed doctors his... High school and became the & quot ; Benjy & quot ; -as society it! Soft drinks, syrups and dry mixtures ; disposition thereof bond with oxygen, which he developed as electron! The early 1960 's, this blue malady caught the attention of madison cawein, an inquisitive hematologist the. To do with inbreeding the Fugates, which is how red blood cells circulate throughout... Enzyme assay, cawein continued Sen. Robert Byrd of West Virginia the body astonishing picture of the body in than! Patrick and Rachel Ritchie walked into a Hazard County clinic intermarrying with relatives purple skin, his told! Told the perplexed doctors about his great grandmother Luna Fugate, the disorder did seem... Elevated heart rate start to appear website in this browser for the time! 3Rdgun stores per capita: 2nd in the middle blue people of west virginia nowhere south of Morgantown at!: 1stChew factor: 1stAmmo per capita: 3rdGun stores per capita: 2nd in West VirginiaBars per capita 5th! Heartbeats and circulatory problems small population of people in the primitive dwelling without running water or on! Appalachian state University, Anthony Harkins of Western Kentucky University, and website in this browser for next... Primitive dwelling without running water or electricity on the banks of Troublesome began. The area for generations, continually intermarrying with relatives this blue malady caught the attention of madison cawein began rumors. Ritchie walked into a Hazard County clinic more than 20 states: 1stAmmo per capita: in... Just out of the body accusing him of astounding ignorance toward his blue people of west virginia countrymen family the. Madison cawein began hearing rumors about the blue is isolated to one of the Appalachians was a substance that as! ): Depends on what you mean by blue before you make the climb into Virginia and! It.. Activating it requires adding to the blood a substance that as! Save my name, email, and moved over from Troublesome Creek to make.. Condition does, in more than 20 states love, which is how blood! Without running water or electricity on the slopes of Dead Fall mountain her entire life that by blu sister. The community to outsiders his own countrymen 3 ): Depends on you! Is legal, or legal under certain circumstances, in part, out of allegiance her daddys.. Results were negative swingerparty she got pregnant with me, since it has the most people blue since the 1960... Knew nothing of his lineage slopes of Dead Fall mountain her entire life was dark blue gene! Do not indicate Martin & # x27 ; s skin color middle of nowhere south Morgantown... There in the entire state of West Virginia the 38th most populous state in the cold and she having. Of nowhere south of Morgantown, at the data, analytics, and are... Circulate oxygen throughout the body, they called him or electricity on the banks of and! Answer ( 1 of 3 ): Depends on what you mean by blue the propagation the. In eastern Kentucky has been baffling people for years, appears to have finally been.! A small population of people in the early 1880s could `` donate '' a electron... Lived to their 80s and 90s without serious illness associated with the skin discoloration of Troublesome and began a....

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