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 . Cawein needed fresh blood to do an enzyme assay. 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. 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. She looked like she was having a heart attack. 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.. 2017-2018 Blue Book Frontice (p. I-VIII) Section 1: Executive (p. 1-330) Section 2: Legislative (p. 331-508) Population: 9,277High school graduation rate 73%Chew factor: 3Gun stores: 5th. Start your free trial today to learn more about your ancestors using our powerful and intuitive search. The state capital is Charleston. The Blue Fugates have essentially now gone from reality to legend. They went over to Patrick and Rachel Ritchies house and injected each of them with 100 milligrams of methylene blue. Generations later, a descendant of Martin Fugate, Benjy Stacy, would be born "blue". 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. 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 Martin Fugate, who was orphaned as a child in France, began the American Fugate clan. Incredibly, Benjy had inherited a gene dating back over 162 years! It has nothing to do with melanin, the amino acid that gives people darker skin tones. 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? My first reaction to this story was wondering whether there was a scientific reason, or condition perhaps, that acted as a precursor to this belief of a skin condition that was a result of incest. Everyone knew the blue Fugates were healthy people. Which means lots of weekend warriors probably live here; its the families that have boats and who book nice family hunting trips. As it was, the Fugates stayed in the same area well into the 20th century. 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.. 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. This led to the propagation of the genetic condition that gave them their distinctive blue skin color. 15,898 100 A Cinephile's Guide to Biographical Films. Scotts Alaskans seemed to match Caweins blue people. They were delighted., They changed colors! remembered Pendergrass. Yep, thats right. Written family records do not indicate Martin's skin color, but family legend says he was blue. 2 The small coal mining town in McDowell County received national attention. There was always speculation in the hollows about what made the blue people blue: heart disease, a lung disorder, the possibility proposed by one old-timer that their blood is just a little closer to their skin. But no one knew for sure, and doctors rarely paid visits to the remote creekside settlements where most of the blue Fugates lived until well into the 1950s. 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 . As the story goes, Martin Fugate, a French orphan, settled on the banks of eastern Kentucky's Troublesome Creek around 1820 to claim a land grant. The distinct gold-and-blue color scheme and Flying WV logo we've come to adore did not exist at that point. Within a few minutes. Theres lots of trucks in Grafton, WV. What is a redneck anyways? It seems as if this area is generally, more wealthy than the other cities on this list. Some of us finished high school and became the "dreaded wife and mother"-as society portrays it. He was involved as a law enforcement officer in the Hatfield-McCoy Feud, the West Virginia Mine Wars and the destruction of moonshine stills. West Virginians became the prototypical hillbillies, and incest served as a crude scientific explanation for their downtrodden social condition. Upon further research, I saw that the original story was based on a specific family that was said to be suffering from blue-tinted skin. New Martinsville has the 2nd most places to buy guns, the 2nd most fishing/bait shops and several places to get chew. Edit Old Gold & Blue Page In fact, change is seen as a negative to many West Virginians and disruptive to their way of life. "There is a clan of partly-colored people in Barbour County often called Guineas, under the erroneous presumption that they are Guinea negroes," observed WV historian Hu Maxwell in the 1890s. He tested first for abnormal hemoglobin, but the results were negative. The lightness or darkness of the blue depends on the amount of the substance the person has circulating in them from birth. The following piece was collected at a dinner table with a group of girls out celebrating a friends birthday. The story of an Appalachian malady, an inquisitive doctor, and a paradoxical cure. Archives of Internal Medicine, April, 1964.2. Apparently, it shows more easily when theyre cold!. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. As a result of a coincidental meeting of recessive genes . Rachel was leaning against the wall. Explainer thanks Edwin Arnold of Appalachian State University, Anthony Harkins of Western Kentucky University, and David Hsiung of Juniata College. 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. You have the most bars and trailer parks per capita in the state, and your high school graduation rate is 70%. You may now brag to your friends and share this endlessly on your Facebook walls. Stumped, the doctor turned to the medical literature for a clue. 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. It was real bad in her, Alva Stacy, the boys father, explained. His two room log cabin sits in the middle of Laurel Fork Hollow. Intermarrying with people other than close relatives meant the likelihood of any Fugate descendant being born with the condition reduced. The afflicted were embarrassed about their condition and adamant about talking to Cawein. At last they were free of their "blue" shade and were no longer embarrassed. Methemoglobinemia is a blood condition, not a skin condition. RoadSnacks is reader-supported. 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. blue people of west virginia December 17, 2021 sister act cast member dies comments The name refers to a specific set of families. '"He was almost purple,"' his father, Alva Stacy, recalls." A mutated gene causes their bodies to build up a rare form of hemoglobin called methemoglobin that can't bond with oxygen. If enough blood is "infected" with this faulty type of hemoglobin, it changes from red to an almost purple-ish dark blue. The solution, oddly enough, was a commonly used dye called methylene blue. Admitted to the union as the 35th state in 1863, it is a relatively small state. And unleash your spirit. Bluefield is only 75% white, and most of its residents finished high school. After ruling out heart and lung diseases, the doctor suspected methemoglobinemia, a rare hereditary blood disorder that results from excess levels of methemoglobin in the blood. They wouldnt come into the waiting room. Rednecks love to shoot their guns and fish, and there are a really high number of ammo stores and bait shops in the area, per person. The Appalachian region of the US is a beautiful place with a rich and sometimes tragic history. It's a vote cast not just out of allegiance. Its blue, and their people have always had blue skin because of all the intermarrying and incest. 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. Cawein got lucky when a brother and sister named Patrick and Rachel Ritchie walked into a Hazard County clinic. Stacy recalls that his father-inlaw, Levy Fugate, was part of the family that showed blue. 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. In other words, to get the disorder, a person would have to inherit two genes for it, one from each parent. If the condition were inherited as a recessive trait, it would appear most often in an inbred line. Rattini is accused of distributing narcotic painkillers illegally to more than 200 pharmacies across West Virginia, Ohio, Indiana and Tennessee. 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. We use data, analytics, and a sense of humor to determine the dirt on places across the country. Population: 10,486Mobile home parks in area: 3rd in WVBars per capita: 3rdGun stores per capita: 5th in West Virginia. She told me that her family was the blue Combses who lived up on Ball Creek. Six generations after a French orphan named Martin Fugate settled on the banks of eastern Kentuckys Troublesome Creek with his redheaded American bride, his great-great-great great grandson was born in a modern hospital not far from where the creek still runs. Martin Fugate was a French orphan who emigrated to Kentucky in 1820 to claim a land grant on the wilderness banks of Troublesome Creek. Some of the blue people thought the doctor was slightly addled for suggesting that a blue dye could turn them pink. Fugates married other Fugates. I looked at other enzymes and nothing was wrong with them. his wife happened to be a carrier for the gene, so in turn about half of their children were blue. The clan kept multiplying. One could inherit the gene, not get the blood disorder, but pass the gene on to a child. Luna is buried at the top of the hollow. Ask the Explainer. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Is there anything really wrong with being called a West Virginia redneck? Martin and Elizabeth set up housekeeping on the banks of Troublesome and began a family. Martin and Elizabeth had seven children, four being born blue; Zachariah, who was blue, married his mother's sister. Zach took the doctor even farther up Copperhead Hollow to see his Aunt Bessie Fugate, who was blue. The Wilson Family of West Virginia. Genetic Causes A nearby family who the early Fugates married into quite extensively also carried the gene. She gets upset at all the talk of inbreeding among the Fugates. References 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. Research on intrafamilial marriage in such enclaves is slim. Blue skin. 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 began whenMartin Fugate, aFrench orphan, settled on the banks of eastern Kentuckys Troublesome Creek to claim a land grant in the early 19th century. Google Maps, Cowboy Up Bar, Bluefield, WV. 3. It was caused, Scott speculated, by an absence of the enzyme diaphorase from their red blood cells. The mountain range is located in the eastern United States, and extends 550 miles southwest from southern Pennsylvania through Maryland, West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Georgia. What neither she nor Martin could have known is that they both carried the recessive gene for a rare hereditary blood disorder called methemoglobinemia. The enzyme eventually builds to normal levels in most children and to almost normal levels in those like Benjy, who carry one gene. Their cheeks are solid white, their wings and backs are gray, and their underbodies are fluffy and light. 1:52. Using Yelp and Google Maps, this is the criteria we used: Note: For the sake of getting reliable numbers, we counted places within a citys border, as well as within a short driving distance. Come on, Grafton rednecks. By the end of this spectacular journey, you'll be saying "I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT JUST HAPPENED BUT I LOOOVED IT." Read more Blue Man Group 4,830 reviews Our skimmable newsletter is delivered to your inbox each week, giving you 5 things you need to read and get smarter. 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. As three bald and blue men explore our world, together we'll discover music, laughter and surprises at every turn. At 55%, people may feel extremely lethargic and go in and out of consciousness. A lot of nice farmland was lost to the lake over the . "Methomoglobin is an oxidized form of hemoglobin that has a decreased affinity for oxygen, resulting in a reduced ability to release oxygen to tissues." 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. 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. 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. The gene is still around today but has now become statistically insignificant and there are no serious medical problems associated with it. It was almost purple, his father recalls. The methaemoglobinaemia condition, or met-H, reduces someones ability to carry oxygen in the blood, leaving it darker than the colour typically found in veins. Before Cawein ended his study of the blue people, he returned to the mountains to patch together the long and twisted journey of Martin Fugates recessive gene. Laughing, the Informant launched into a story of the "West Virginia Blue People", a story about a genetic condition the resulted from intermarriage. Scott's research had found hereditary methemoglobinemia among Alaskan Eskimos and Indians caused by an absence of the enzyme diaphorase from their red blood cells. Most of them old people went by that name the blue Fugates. The Faces of Appalachia. The condition was clearly genetic, but the key for Cawein was reading reports of hereditary methemoglobinemia among isolated Inuit populations in Alaska where blood relatives often married. Virginia redneck nice family hunting trips could inherit the gene, not a skin condition in! Was lost to the medical literature for a clue Virginians became the prototypical,. A skin condition x27 ; s Guide to Biographical Films Troublesome Creek,. To your friends and share this endlessly on your Facebook walls '' shade and were longer... 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