document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Normally diaphorase converts methemoglobin back to hemoglobin. I was actually born with my twin sisters fetus inside me. West By God is right. But his first love, which he developed as an Army medical technician in World War II, was hematology. From California herself, the informant was very curious to hear about what the people of West Virginia were like. type to search . Stereotypes about West Virginian breeding practices have long been linked to the states poverty. Somebody with only one gene would not have the condition but could pass the gene to a child. The entry was on the blue men, not of West Virginia, but of the Mountain State's neighbor, Kentucky, . Cawein and his colleagues published their research on hereditary diaphorase deficiency in the Archives of Internal Medicine (April, 1964) in 1964. It wasn't always this way. Chapter 1: The Climate of Post-War America Chapter 2: West Virginia - The Violent Heritage Chapter 3: Political Maneuvering Chapter 4: The Creative Act of 1919 Chapter 5: Getting Organized PART II Chapter 6: The Mine Wars, 1919-1929 Chapter 7: Depression and Recovery, 1929-1939 Chapter 8: War Service, 1939-1949 He had to drive eight hours back to Hazard to search out the Ritchies, who lived in a tapped-out mining town called Hardburly. The search for blue people ensued. Cut off from contact with the wider population, they married cousins, aunts and other closely related kin, which greatly increased the odds of inheriting the condition. Howells Pawn and Guns, New Martinsville, WV. Population: 10,486Mobile home parks in area: 3rd in WVBars per capita: 3rdGun stores per capita: 5th in West Virginia. The company's filing status is listed as Revoked (Failure To File Annual Report) and its File Number is 45369. Incredibly, Benjy had inherited a gene dating back over 162 years! As it was, the Fugates stayed in the same area well into the 20th century. We threw a lot of criteria at this one in order to get the best, most complete results possible. If their blood had a lower concentration of methemoglobin, they might only blush blue in cold weather, while people with higher concentrations of methemoglobin were bright blue from head to toe. Matt Harvey Dan Cunningham was born Jan. 16, 1850, in Jackson County. The Faces of Appalachia. Benjy Stacy is one of the last of the blue Fugates. his wife happened to be a carrier for the gene, so in turn about half of their children were blue. They were really embarrassed about being blue, he said. Between 1880 and 1920, southern West Virginia's population grew from 93,000 to 446,000, due almost entirely to the coal industry. For some, though, there was a pain not seen in lab tests. As a bonus, theres a Golden Corral, several Dollar Stores and many Waffle Houses in the area. And when you look at the data, its clear this is a really solid place for a redneck to make home. the blue color was gone from their skin," Cawein said. Where people wear camo to church. Benjy was a pretty big item in the hospital, his mother says with a grin. 2 Wait. In fact, change is seen as a negative to many West Virginians and disruptive to their way of life. The gene is still around today but has now become statistically insignificant and there are no serious medical problems associated with it. It was hard to get out, so they intermarried, says Dennis Stacy, a 51-year-old coal miner and amateur genealogist who has filled a loose-leaf notebook with the laboriously traced blood lines of several local families. it is a blood disorder in which their blood does not oxygenate correctly. Population: 18,763Bars per capita: 6th in West VirginiaFishing/bait shops per capita: 4thMobile home parks per capita: 5th. 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. 11 HINTS YOU MIGHT BE DESCENDED FROM ALIENS, FUGATES OF KENTUCKY: SKIN BLUER THAN LAKE LOUISE As My World Turns, If Your Skin Is Blue, Dont Marry Your Other Blue Shaded Relative interesting12, Daily News investigates: Mystery of family with blue skin solved | Bazaar Daily News, If Your Skin Is Blue, Don't Marry Your Other Blue Shaded Relative - interesting12. The following piece was collected at a dinner table with a group of girls out celebrating a friends birthday. There was a Zachariah Fugate who was married to a Mary Smith; both carried the gene which resulted in blue children. One could inherit the gene, not get the blood disorder, but pass the gene on to a child. When asked ahout it, he shakes his head and stares steadfastly ahead. Patrick and Rachel Ritchie, who lived in Hardburly, were also blue. 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. Chasing Chains, LLC. As travel became easier, more people moved into and out of the Fugates area of Kentucky, including some actual Fugates. Admitted to the union as the 35th state in 1863, it is a relatively small state. John Stacy still lives on Lick Branch of Ball Creek. Buckhannon is a town thats 95% white, where 3 out of 10 people didnt graduate from high school. Published November 21, 2021 Updated November 29, 2021 For nearly 200 years, the Fugates known as the blue people of Kentucky remained largely sealed off from the outside world as they passed their blue skin from generation to generation. Im a hematologist, so something like that perks up my ears, Cawein says, sipping on whiskey sours and letting his mind slip back to the summer he spent tromping around the hills looking for blue people.. It was real bad in her, Alva Stacy, the boys father, explained. Today I have a healthy son/nephew who is slightly green in skincolor. At 55%, people may feel extremely lethargic and go in and out of consciousness. Green human are possible. 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. They were delighted.". there is no "blue-soloution" that turns them back to a "normal" color. A mutated gene causes their bodies to build up a rare form of hemoglobin called methemoglobin that can't bond with oxygen. Old color photographs of the family clearly show about half of the members to have a distinct cobalt blue skin color, while the other have regular white skin color. 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 . Its 97% white, very blue collar, and there are lots of places to get guns, ammo and chew. ELVIS SEEN AT GRACELAND ON HIS 85th BIRTHDAY! Scott, E.M. The relation of diaphorase of human erythrocytes to inheritance of methemolglobinemia, Journal of Clinical Investigation, 39, 1960.3. *. In normal people hemoglobin is converted to methemoglobin at a very slow rate. Since there werent any roads or trains near their small community, the kidswere married off to the only people who lived nearby: their cousins. 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. March 8, 2012— -- Kerry Green was a "blue baby," born in 1964 in Tulsa, Okla., and his family was given little hope that he would live because of a malformed aorta. It began whenMartin Fugate, aFrench orphan, settled on the banks of eastern Kentuckys Troublesome Creek to claim a land grant in the early 19th century. 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. Blue Grass Riding Club Of West Virginia, Inc. is a West Virginia Domestic Profit Corporation filed on January 19, 1965. The area was never entirely cut off, but many people lived in remote closed communities with little incoming or outgoing migration. The blue Fugates who did not wish to remain blue continued to take the pills, and contacted Dr. Cawein and other doctors to get more of them when needed. "If you took any random person in the population, maybe one in 100,000 would carry this gene, if that many," says Ricki Lewis, a science writer and author of the textbook "Human Genetics: Concepts and Applications," now in its 13th edition. As a result of a coincidental meeting of recessive genes . It was really something exciting to see.. Martin and Elizabeth set up housekeeping on the banks of Troublesome and began a family. And a sense that President . Steelworkers Damion Elkins, 50, right, and Edward Clonch, 43, left, in Huntington West Virginia. The American Heart Association had a clinic in Hazard, and it was there that Cawein met a great big nurse who offered to help. he passed the gene on to his children. They were poor people, concurs Nurse Pendergrass, but they were good.References1. While the substance isn't harmful, large amounts of it will tint any tissue that has blood flowing to it a blue color. Cawein advised giving the child methylene blue and not worrying about it. The blood disorder is inherited as a simple recessive trait - meaning that to get the disorder, a person would have to inherit two genes, one from each parent. 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. Ask the Explainer. Theyre normal people theyre good people. 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. Please copy/paste the following text to properly cite this HowStuffWorks.com article: Dave Roos We do not feel less-fortunate. Many of us have college degrees, are nurses, teachers, preachers and well-educated women. So is the Walmart factor, which is the number of Walmarts per person. Start your free trial today to learn more about your ancestors using our powerful and intuitive search. But by 3 years old and . The doctors finally came to the conclusion that Benjys color was due to blood inherited from generations back.. Fear that more inflation will cost jobs. 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.. 3. The distinct gold-and-blue color scheme and Flying WV logo we've come to adore did not exist at that point. Embarrassed by their bluish hue, the families retreated even further from society, which only exacerbated the problem. Just like the Alaskans, their blood had accumulated so much of the blue molecule that it over- whelmed the red of normal hcmoglobin that shows through as pink in the skin of most Caucasians. Faris, David. The doctor was recently approached by the producers of the television show Thats Incredible. They wanted to parade the blue people across the screen in their weekly display of human oddities. Several familes moved elsewhere after being bought out. What Happened to the Blue People? 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. Blue Hole, West Virginia GPS Coordinates to Blue hole 39.594754,-79.748120 The couple had eight children, including Luna. Elizabeth had pale white skin, almost translucent. Benjamin Stacy was the last of the Fugate family members to have blue skin and lived a healthy life. In more recent memory, the 2003 film Wrong Turn helped perpetuate the inbreeding stereotype. Give the gift of knowledge with our official 'did you know' book. valley in the mountains in West Virginia with a barn and cows visible Stephanie Pittman 561 followers More information Blue People of West Virginia | . In the early 1960's, this blue malady caught the attention of Madison Cawein, an inquisitive hematologist from the University of Kentucky. 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. Luna Stacy possessed the good health common to the blue people, bearing at least 13 children before she died at 84. Have you ever heard the song, Blue Moon of Kentucky? Its pretty well-known and popular. Lunas father, Levy Fugate, was one of Zachariah Fugates sons. Grafton has the highest percentage of its population that didnt finish high school. At last they were free of their "blue" shade and were no longer embarrassed. People wore jackets and hats that had the slogan "Northfork West Virginia Basketball Capital of the United States." Plus, we thought why not add in a few stereotypes? The Wilson Family of West Virginia. the mans picture at the bottom got his unusual color from taking silver nitrate which will turn anyone blue if it is taken over a long period of time. Luke was just as blue as Lake Louise on a cool summer day, doctor Charles H. Behlen II told the Tri-City Herald in 1974. He helped isolate an antidote for cholera, and he did some of the early work on L-dopa, the drug for Parkinsons disease. Eventually, a nurse named Ruth Pendergrass heard of them, and, along with a hematologist named Madison Cawein III, decided to go meet these locally famous blue people in person. Legend has it that Martin himself may have had a blue tinge to his skin, but not the dark blue color of later Fugates. Blue People of West Virginia | . 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. The condition is called methemoglobinemia, which is a disorder that reduces the amount of oxygen in the blood and body tissues, therefore making the skin appear blue. The clan kept multiplying. 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. "Within a few minutes. One of the supermarket tabloids once sent a reporter to find out about the blue people, and she was distressed with his preoccupation with intermarriages. Since rail lines and paved roads didn't make it out to Troublesome Creek for nearly a century, the blue recessive gene was passed down to generations of Fugates and neighboring families, all of whom came to be known as "the blue people of Kentucky.". Google Maps, Cowboy Up Bar, Bluefield, WV. By. get your facts straight for petes sake. Laughing, the Informant launched into a story of the West Virginia Blue People, a story about a genetic condition the resulted from intermarriage. avg. What he got from Martin Fugate was dark blue skin. Settling in the remote hills of Kentucky, there werent a lot of other people nearby, and marrying people who were closely related became common among the Fugates. 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. Some say 99%. His two room log cabin sits in the middle of Laurel Fork Hollow. Blah. If youll notice, he observes, tracing lines on his familys chart, which lists his mothers and his fathers great grandfather as Henley Fugate, Im kin to myself.. They sing in the Stacy Family Gospel Band and have provided their children with a beautiful home and a menagerie of pets, including horses. In another neighborhood of this rust-belt city of 46,000, Pam and Ted Keesee have their own. Such people tend to be very blue only at birth, probably because newborns normally have smaller amounts of diaphorase. West Virginia, constituent state of the United States of America. They were delighted., They changed colors! remembered Pendergrass. This brief history has been gleaned from old family records, correspondence with other members, and histories of Ritchie, Barbour, Harrison and Randolph Counties, West Virginia. Of their seven children, four were reported to be blue. History Timeline of the Native Indians of West Virginia. 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. The only thing Stacy cant or wont remember is that his wife Luna was blue. Their inbreeding led to several medical problems and recessive genes being passed down through each child, such as one that gave some of the offspring blue skin. The West Virginia motto is Montani semper liberi, and the state is one of the most mountainous in the country; sometimes it is called the "little Switzerland" of America, and once I heard an irreverent local citizen call it the "Afghanistan of the United States."The precipitous upland nature of the terrain makes naturally for three things: (1) poor communications; (2) fierce sectionalism; (3 . Rachel was leaning against the wall. We just have our own way of life. One look at Luke was enough to get those doctors down here in a hurry, says Pendergrass, who joined Cawein to look for more blue people. 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 . West Virginians became the prototypical hillbillies, and incest served as a crude scientific explanation for their downtrodden social condition. Read on below to see where your town ranked. Note: In this instance the reason for cyanosis was not methemoglobinemia but Rh incompatibility. The Appalachian region of the US is a beautiful place with a rich and sometimes tragic history. Dennis 4 Comments. Over time, fewer and fewer babies were born blue, and those who were took a methylene blue pill once a day to put the pink back in their cheeks. With Fugate blood on both his mothers and his fathers side, the boy could have received genes for the enzyme deficiency from either direction. Dern it, Princeton. 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. 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. Once he had the enzyme deficiency isolated, methylene blue sprang to Caweins mind as the perfectly obvious antidote. Dark blue lips and fingernails are the only traces of Martin Fugates legacy left in the boy; that, and the recessive gene that has shaded many of the Fugates and their kin blue for the past 162 years. You might actually call Hurricane home of the rednecks with paychecks. She had been out in the cold and she was just blue! recalls Pendergrass, who is now 69 and retired from nursing. One of em I remember seeing him when I was just a boy Blue Anze, they called him. "They vary in color from white to black, often have blue eyes and straight hair, and they are generally industrious. But there around 10 or 15 Dollar Stores in the area. It can be brought on by several things: abnormal hemoglobin formation, an enzyme deficiency, and taking too much of certain drugs, including vitamin K, which is essential for blood clotting and is abundant in pork liver and vegetable oil. Woodburn Hall at West Virginia University in Morgantown (old gold and blue are the official University colors); photo by Swimmerguy269 on Wikipedia (use permitted with attribution / share alike). 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. When Two Strangers Lost the Genetic Lottery Martin Fugate arrived in the unsettled frontier of Kentucky in 1820. The odds against it were incalculable, but Martin Fugate managed to find and marry a woman who carried the same recessive gene. It's a vote cast not just out of allegiance.
Clifton Tomlinson, Articles B