Steele County community where nobody has lived for 26 years holds reunion

BLABON, NORTH DAKOTA — It was a ride down memory lane for former resident Johnny Peterson, back decades later to the town he once called home.

“I lived in that field right back there,” Peterson said.

“It’s all about memories, there’s memories in this town,” Peterson said. “Someone once told me there’s nothing in this town. No, there’s more memories you can imagine.”

Since 1997, the Steele County community of Blabon, roughly 45 miles north of Valley City, has been nothing but a memory. It’s last full-time resident moved out after living there alone for two years. The story made national headlines.

Peterson said a few years ago that it’d be fun to have a reunion and get all the “Blabonites” together. That’s exactly what happened July 22 and 23.

From all across the country, 130 came home for Blabon Blast.

Blabon was founded in 1896 and named after Joseph Blabon, an official with the Great Northern Railroad. The town, which consisted of just three city blocks, was built around the railroad.

The population peaked in the early 1900s at around 150 residents.

Three of the town’s four elevators burned down over the years. The old merry-go-round and school swing set are pretty much all that still exist.

“I can remember lady’s aid suppers, we had lutefisk and lefse and we always have a sale — an auction sale at the end of the fall,” said former resident Marcia Mitzel.

Currently, Russell Stensland is the town’s only resident, but only lives there part-time.

“(It’s) Lonely, I brought a dog down to help compensate for that,” he said.

The only known living relative of Joseph Blabon, fourth cousin David Blabon, traveled all the way from California for the reunion.

His first trip to the area was five years ago when he was researching his family tree.

During the reunion, the town presented him with an old vanity Blabon license plate which he said is an honor to receive.

“It’s family, even though they aren’t, they’re still family to me,” Blabon said.

It was a day of reliving the old memories that show Blabon was much more than the ghost town that it is today.

Matt Henson is an Emmy award-winning reporter/photographer/editor for WDAY. Prior to joining WDAY in 2019, Matt was the main anchor at WDAZ in Grand Forks for four years. He was born and raised in the suburbs of Philadelphia and attended college at Lyndon State College in northern Vermont, where he was recognized twice nationally, including first place, by the National Academy for Arts and Science for television production. Matt enjoys being a voice for the little guy. He focuses on crimes and courts and investigative stories. Just as often, he shares tear-jerking stories and stories of accomplishment. Matt enjoys traveling to small towns across North Dakota and Minnesota to share their stories. He can be reached at mhenson@wday.com and at 610-639-9215. When he’s not at work (rare) Matt resides in Moorhead and enjoys spending time with his daughter, golfing and attending Bison and Sioux games.