The main post office on 18th Street has been renamed for the Oildale native who made his mark with songs about the common man, the late Merle Haggard.Theresa Haggard says it’s hard to believe he’s been gone now for two years. “I see him in my children, I see him in the friends I happen to see in the streets, I walk into a bar you hear his music playing…He’s everywhere, he’s a part of our lives, and now he’s in the post office (laughs).” The street in front of the post office was closed during Friday’s dedication that was led by Bakersfield Congressman and House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, and there was even dancing as the Buck Fever Band headed by Johnny Owens played several of Haggard’s songs. Merle Haggard died on his 81st Birthday on April 6, 2016.

Suzanne Grant