Anyone who
has lived in or around Huntington, West Virginia for very long
knows about the dye factory along 5th Avenue from around
22nd Street to 26th Street. When I was a youngster the plant was called
Ultramarine. It later become part of
Holland SUCO then BASF. In any case the
factory made a dark blue pigment that is a silicate of aluminum and
sodium and some other chemicals. The
pigment has been used in ink, paint and laundry
bluing.
When I was in
high school, I worked at Stewarts Drive pushing the best darn 25
cent hot dogs and 10 cent root beer to be found. Everyone remembers the frosty mugs of frothy root
Stewart’s root beer on a summer afternoon. As a car hop wearing the required black pants,
white shirt and black bow tie, I served many of the factory workers
with a lunch of dogs, chips and grog.
These men looked like the famous Blue Men Group with the blue dye
covering their clothes and bodies.
Frequently, only their eyes were free of the blue
pigment. I have been told that the
employees took in so much of the dye that they would sweat it from
their pores for days.
This cache is
dedicated to an industry that contributed to better days gone by
for the city of Huntington. The cache is 100% handicap
accessible and should be a quick grab and go in a small park in
East Huntington.
A link to the
history of this factory can be found at: http://www.colorantshistory.org/StandardUltramarine.html