John Rinehart Blue

Blue served in the United States Army during World War II.[3][8] He enlisted as a private in the U.S. Army at the age of 37 on November 20, 1942, in Clarksburg, West Virginia.[5][9] Following his enlistment, Blue was inducted into the U.S. Army in Columbus, Ohio.[10] He separated from the U.S. Army in May 1946 with the rank of first lieutenant.[5] Blue later served as a first lieutenant in Company G, 398th Airborne Infantry Regiment, 100th Airborne Division of the United States Army Reserve.[11][12][13]

The old Romney theatre (photographed in March 1938), which later became the second location for Blue's Ben Franklin store

In October 1948, Blue purchased the J. W. Jackson Store, a Ben Franklin five and dime variety store, which was housed in the Blue Building owned by his father John David Blue, on Main Street in Romney.[3][14][15] The Blue Building was later razed for the construction of the Pioneer Restaurant.[15] Between 1955 and 1956, Blue relocated the Ben Franklin store to a three-story building on Main Street, which had previously housed Romney's theater.[15] Following Blue's death, the Ben Franklin store was owned and operated by his wife, Madeline, until it ceased operation and closed in 1991.[15][16][17]

Blue served as principal of the West Virginia Schools for the Deaf and Blind (WVSDB) Advanced School for the Deaf in Romney for 20 years.[3][18] While serving at WVSDB, Blue served as a member of the committee for the Deaf School's Boy Scout Troop No. 66.[19] Blue resigned as principal of the School for the Deaf on June 30, 1952.[20]

Following the resignation of William L. Thompson from the West Virginia House of Delegates on August 28, 1953, West Virginia Governor William C. Marland appointed Blue to fill Thompson's vacant delegate seat representing Hampshire County on September 23, 1953, until the end of the term on November 30, 1954.[21][22] He was sworn in as a house member on December 8, 1953.[23]

In May 1954, Blue filed for re-election to his seat in the Democratic Party primary election,[24] in which he was nominated for re-election to his delegate seat by Hampshire County Democratic voters in August 1954, receiving 729 votes compared to 536 votes for James W. Short and 517 votes for Harold L. Welker, both Democratic opponents from the Romney area.[25][26] Blue subsequently ran in the general election on November 2, 1954 for his delegate seat and won, receiving 1859 votes compared to 1355 votes for his opponent, Republican candidate Earl A. Loy of Augusta.[27][28][29] As part of a West Virginia Legislature survey of state institutions, Blue participated in a delegation to inspect Potomac State College in 1955.[30]

Blue filed as a candidate for reelection to his seat in the Democratic primary election in 1956.[31] He won his primary election in May 1956,[32] and he was reelected to his seat in November 1956 after beating his Republican challenger Ben F. Slane of Slanesville, 2,804 to 1,738.[33][34] Blue filed for inclusion on the ballot in the Democratic Party primary election in 1958, but later lost in the primary to William Basil Slonaker of Dillons Run who went on to win Blue's delegate seat in the 1958 general election.[35][36][37] Blue attempted recapturing his delegate seat in 1962, but was defeated in the Democratic Party primary election by incumbent Slonaker, 579 to 1430 votes.[38][39][40]

In February 1960, Blue filed to run in the Democratic primary for sheriff of Hampshire County.[41][42]

Blue married Madeline Stanford McDowell on September 6, 1938.[16][17][43] McDowell was the daughter of Angus and Madeline Stanford McDowell of Camden and Montgomery, Alabama.[16][17][43] Blue and his wife Madeline had three children together:[3][17][44]

• John Angus McDowell Blue (1943–2019), an attorney, married to Elizabeth Alt[45][46]
• Julia Tait Blue Weir
• David Stanford Blue

Blue's wife Madeline was a teacher for the primary grades at the WVSDB School for the Deaf for 35 years, served as president of the West Virginia Parent Teachers Association, and served as a member of the Hampshire County Board of Education for 28 years.[43]

Blue was a member of the Romney Presbyterian Church, which was affiliated with the Presbyterian Church in the United States.[3][6] He served on his church's board of deacons,[3] and as a member of the church's Men's Club.[47] In addition to his church, Blue was a member of the Moose Lodge, Lions Club, Hampshire Post 91 of the American Legion, and the Romney Bridge Club.[3][5][48] Blue was a member of the Kiwanis Club of Romney and was elected to its board of directors in 1962.[49] He also led the Kiwanis Club's committee for the construction of a new club building.[50]