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Florence “Florie” Buchignani Rovai donated this paper artifact to the Healdsburg Museum in 1992.  Numbered #547-2 in Museum accession records, the Invitation is printed on orange cardboard and measures 9 ¼” x 4 ¼”.  It is in fair, unfaded condition, but has a crease from where it had been previously folded.

Florie Rovai was interviewed at age 90 in 2005 by Shonnie Brown for the Healdsburg Tribune.  As “Miss Redwood Empire,” Florie had a special role at the Geyserville Bridge dedication ceremony, which took place at 1:30 p.m. on Sunday, November 6, 1932.  The festivities, planned for months, included participation by Calistoga, the nearest city to benefit from improvements in highway transportation between the neighboring northern CA counties.  In the 2005 interview, Florie recalled how she came to participate in the historic event:   

 Governor James Rolph came to Geyserville High School from Sacramento to pick out girls from the area.  He said, ‘Line up all the girls!’  Then he picked certain ones to step forward…then, from this group, he said to me, 'You step out.  You’re Miss Redwood Empire.’  The other girls—Ruth Rose, Rose Stefani and Vivian Hunt—were my attendants.

The new bridge over the Russian River at Geyserville was a 1,000 foot span of steel and concrete.  It took six months to build at a cost of $75,000.  The celebration was held under the joint auspices of the Sonoma County and Napa County supervisors, the Geyserville Chamber of Commerce, the Calistoga Chamber of Commerce, the Redwood Empire Association and the Geyserville Fire Department.  In addition to speakers from all of these groups, a pageant featuring girl students from Geyserville and Calistoga High School was included.  The Calistoga girls were dressed as “geyser maids” (for the hot water geysers for which Calistoga was known) and the Geyserville girls were garbed as “redwood maids.”

The Healdsburg Tribune reported that the crowds at the Geyserville Bridge celebration topped 2,000.  Florie proudly cut the ribbon and christened the bridge with a bottle of “rare old champagne made at the world-famous Asti vineyards.”  Since she eloped with her husband William Americo Rovai the very next day, this event became one of the significant memories of her life.  Thanks to Florence Buchignani Rovai for donating this artifact (and this story) to the Healdsburg Museum and Historical Society.

 Unfortunately the 1932 Geyserville Bridge is now history.  Severely damaged by floodwaters in 2006, the bridge was replaced in August 2006.  The new bridge is 1,000 feet long, has two 12-foot lanes, two 8-foot shoulders and a pedestrian walkway.  It was built by C.C. Myers Inc. of Rancho Cordova, which had a $10 million contract to demolish the old bridge and $11.8 million to build the new bridge.  Healdsburg’s Memorial Bridge, a Pennsylvania Petit steel truss built in 1921 and eligible for the National Register of Historic Places, is currently under review by City officials.  In 2008, there is partial funding available to the City for restoration and refurbishment of the bridge, yet some are leaning towards more costly replacement, citing safety concerns.  Will northern Sonoma County lose another historic bridge?

Sources:  “Buchignani” and “Geyserville” subject files; post cards, Healdsburg Museum;

Healdsburg Tribune October – November 1932.

The above was researched and written by Holly Hoods, Research Curator.

For more information about the Museum's collection of historical artifacts, contact the Museum