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

North Dakota's legislative session opened with the usual speeches and the use of a 115-year-old silver punchbowl once used on a battleship. The gleaming vessel is part of a 40-piece silver serving set purchased and made for the USS North Dakota in the 1910s. The battleship was decommissioned in 1923, and the silver service returned to North Dakota in 1926. The punchbowl is used at the opening of the biennial legislative session and for the governor's inaugural ball. National Guard servicemembers escorted the punchbowl and watched it during Tuesday's event.