North Dakota opens its legislative session with speeches and drinks from a 115-year-old punchbowl

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — If the speeches weren’t enough of a draw when the North Dakota Legislature convened Tuesday, maybe a chance to slurp up punch from a 115-year-old silver punchbowl once used on a battleship did the trick.

The 45-pound punchbowl — part of a 40-piece custom setting purchased and made for the USS North Dakota — was carried under guard when lawmakers began their work in the capital city of Bismarck. Those National Guardsmen watched carefully as people lined up to quench their thirst at the punchbowl.

At one point, Gov. Kelly Armstrong’s mother, Connie, took up a plastic ladle and filled clear cups from the valuable relic.

“I’m trying not to touch it,” she laughed. “I’m trying to be very careful.”

North Dakota residents in the 1910s raised $16,000 — nearly $500,000 today — for the serving set, decorated with bison heads and other agrarian motifs, such as prairie roses, wheat and corn.

The punchbowl of the USS North Dakota silver service shows details of a bison head and an ear of corn as it rests on a table in Memorial Hall of the State Capitol in Bismarck, N.D., Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Jack Dura)

“It’s still something that North Dakotans were proud of, proud to provide, proud to use, proud to see used,” said Lori Nohner, a State Historical Society of North Dakota research historian.

The USS North Dakota was christened in 1908 and decommissioned in 1923. The silver service came back to North Dakota in 1926, Nohner said.

The punchbowl and two candelabra have usually been used at the opening of the biennial legislative session and for the governor’s inaugural ball, she said.

Preparing for the event entails removing the items from their display cases and cleaning them. A clear-coat application from long ago prevents tarnishing, but the punchbowl’s inside is still cleaned with mild soap and distilled water.

The gleaming vessel was tucked inside a large, padlocked box that three National Guard servicemembers unloaded and wheeled to the Capitol’s great hall. Two State Historical Society staff members wearing gloves carefully unboxed the punchbowl from the container with pads inside protecting its base and bison heads. Two guard members watched it during the event.

An eagle spreads its wings along the base of the punchbowl of the USS North Dakota’s silver service on Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025, on a table in Memorial Hall of the state Capitol in Bismarck, N.D. (AP Photo/Jack Dura)

After the festivities, workers will use cotton swabs to clean out drops of punch. They also fill out a detailed condition report before and after the event.

The original ladle broke in half at some point and is no longer used.

Other pieces of the silver service include a coffee urn, serving platters, cups and even a humidor for cigars. Much of the set is usually on display at the Heritage Center in Bismarck.