BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — Beale Memorial Library will host two Kern County authors discussing country music legend Merle Haggard on Wednesday, April 6th.
The event held in the library's Local History Room starts at 4 p.m. to celebrate Haggard's birthday. Ray McDonald and Phil Neighbors, two local authors, will share personal and professional stories of Haggard along with a few videos.
McDonald, author of "Merle Haggard Was a Friend," lived at Merle and Bonnie Owens' home during his sophomore year of high school in Bakersfield. He also drove his Haggard's tour bus during the last years of his career.
Neighbors, who wrote "Merle Haggard, Bonnie Owens, & Me," teamed up with Merle's manager Fuzzy Owens to help him write his stories about Fuzzy's time with Merle on the road and at home. Neighbors has lived in Kern County for 40 years serving as one of the pastors at Valley Baptist Church in Bakersfield.
