Congressman McCarthy spearheaded the renaming of this United States Post Office on 18th Street to the Merle Haggard Post Office Friday by sponsoring the house bill to change the name, that President Trump signed off on.
Many in Bakersfield knew Merle Haggard as the common man for his songs about hard work and values centered around Kern County life but the world knew him as much more.
"He was a poet because he put those as an artist to words to song," Congressman McCarthy said.
Friday hundreds of community members watched as the United States Post Office was renamed in Haggards honor, but it wasn't just a day to extend his legacy in Bakersfield, it was a celebration of his life.
"The day he was born and the day he passed was both on April 6, the day we're here today would be his 81st birthday," McCarthy said.
Many rejoiced in sound with hit songs like, “Oakie From the Muskogee,” listened to stories of his life from city leaders like Bakersfield Mayor Karen Goh, “Iconic country music hall of fame performer that inspired the country music world and beyond!"
Haggard's wife Theresa Ann Lane also spoke, "I see him in my children, I see him in friends I happen to see in the streets, I walk into the bar you hear his music playing he's everywhere."
Now Haggards voice will live on in the Merle Haggard Post Office forever.
The post office and the Haggard family both received copies of the bill that was signed by President Trump,
The Merle Haggard Post Office will be open again on Monday at 9 am.
