BAKERSFIELD, CA – On Friday, April 6, 2018, the Downtown Station Post Office, located at 1730 18th Street, will be dedicated to honor late American country singer Merle Haggard. The ceremony will begin at 9:30 a.m.

“We are very proud to have this facility honor the life and accomplishments of Merle Haggard,” said District Manager Al Santos, who will be joined at the ceremony by Congressman Kevin McCarthy (CA-23), Bakersfield Mayor Karen K. Goh, the Haggard family and other dignitaries to unveil the naming plaque which will hang in the Post Office lobby.

McCarthy introduced the legislation signed into law by President Donald Trump (H.R. 1988) on March 13, 2018, naming the building for Haggard. This act pays tribute to a man who not only helped create the Bakersfield sound but also taught America that despite a troubled start in life, a person can always finish on top.

Haggard’s family moved to Bakersfield from Oklahoma in 1937. Haggard had a troubled childhood after the death of his father, resulting in several incarcerations during his youth. But he managed to turn his life around and launch an iconic music career. Over the course of his career, he received many honors and awards, including a Kennedy Center Honor, a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, a BMI Icon Award, induction into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Country Music Hall of Fame.

“For a man who went from Bakersfield High to San Quentin prison to the Country Music Hall of Fame, a building doesn’t seem like much,” Rep. Kevin McCarthy said. “But I hope that when people pass by the Merle Haggard Post Office Building in downtown Bakersfield, they will remember an icon of our community, an artist who never backed down, a man whose honesty about his own failings and willingness to pick himself back up inspired music that lifts our spirits and feeds our souls.”

“This is a great honor for one of Bakersfield’s hometown heroes,” said Theresa Lane Haggard, the widow of Merle Haggard. “Now, when people mail their daily dues, they will think of Merle and reminisce and remember how he touched our lives and hearts with his songs and his love for his country and its people. He gave us his all and the Haggard family sincerely thanks Representative McCarthy for spearheading this recognition for Merle and his town.”

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