Had the pleasure to go here last weekend to celebrate your father’s music and its impact on my life! Hope you and your family are taking care of yourselves these days! ❤
I can only imagine what Merle was thinking when he saw his home for the first time in so many many years. It had to be hard to see your boyhood home in this condition. Changes taking place right before your very eyes as they are dismantling a house along with its memories, numbered piece by piece so it can be put back together again, but only in a new location. It's great they can preserve things like this but at the same time, as Merle put it so mildly, " Even the memories have left this place" Everyone has come and gone, the memories that were once there are no longer and as much as one is wanting those memories to remain, the fact is, the memories left a long, long time ago. All that's left are the memories in ones own heart.......
Thanks Ben for sharing this with all of The Mighty Merle Haggard fans. God Bless you and your family. RIP Merle. . Praying your Brother Scott finds his recognition in the Haggard family. God Bless you all
Thanks a million Ben. Loved your dad and his music (and you are doing great things keeping his music alive...that's fantastic) I do some singing myself and I always have to do some of your dad's songs. I'll miss that man FOREVER as many will. God bless you, your dad and the rest of the family!!!
Nobody could ever say that legendary country singer Merle Haggard grew up with a "Silver Spoon" in his mouth ! What a great video to share, no wonder he is still considered "The Poet Of The Common Man" !!
I can't imagine what was going through his mind. Your 3 sons are doing a brilliant job at singing and are loved by many as you, Theresa and Bonnie are to. Rip legend
It is amazing that Merle loved this old boxcar so much, he relived the past every day of his life, glad he lived to see all this happen. Merle was an amazing man to go thru all he did and become an incredible singer and still, just be a simple man, and not build a mansion just because he could. He is a big man in my eyes, as I saw my husband go thru some of these things growing up and he lived a good life in later years. He also was a singer in country music but did not know Merle personally. This is great that Merle rose above all those hardships.One can only imagine what this could of been like growing up.
Wow! That stove! In the 50's (around 1953-54) my mom & dad ate biscuits and pie that Merle's mother Flossie Haggard baked in that old O'Keefe & Merritt stove in that old converted Santa Fe Railroad refrigerator car (box car used to transport perishables that had to be kept on ice) out on Yosemite Drive in Oildale! Dad & Flossie both worked at the Empress Dry Cleaners there in Oildale where dad was the cleaner and she worked as a part time presser & book keeper for the shop. My folks lived around the corner from Mrs. Haggard who was a widow that worked hard and took care of her wayward son Merle. Occasionally she invited my folks over to play Pinochle with her and another friend she kept company with. They'd play cards and drink coffee, and she usually had pie and biscuits to snack on while they played. Merle came home one night as they were playing and said hello to my folks as he grabbed a couple biscuits off that stove then told his mama that he was gonna go listen to 'Uncle Buck' (Buck Owens at the Blackboard - Merle called him 'uncle' back then!) - He grabbed his acoustic guitar out of the closet and told everyone bye bye and left. He was about 15 or 16 then! My dad played guitar in some of those old beer joints up there in Bakersfield up on Beer Can Hill as they called it and other popular night spots including High Pockets, Rainbow Gardens, The Lucky Spot & Tex's Barrell House where some local acts including Texas fiddler Uncle Jimmy Thomasson and others that he played for and with. By day my dad worked in the dry cleaners and he played in bands in the beer joints at night on weekends. I was almost born in Bakersfield but circumstances led my folks back to southern CA where I was born in mid-1955. In the mid 80's I got to know Merle via Tiny Moore who introduced us briefly on Saturday, September 22, 1984 when he performed at the Hemet Hospital Fundraiser Ramona Bowl summer concert series event, after informing me that Marty Haggard was putting a band together and had expressed some interest in needing a guitar player who knew Bob Wills music which I'd grew up on. When I met Merle by his bus he gave me Marty's phone number in Bakersfield. I contacted him and he was living in this old box car home his dad had grown up in which was still owned by his grandma Flossie Haggard which she rented out. A few months later I drove up to Bakersfield and stayed at some of my relatives (lots of family there!) and went over to meet and play with Marty. It was Super Bowl Sunday January 20th 1985 - (when I arrived Frank Sinatra had just sang on some news clip or in a commercial on TV. I recall Marty said his dad had remarked to him that "Old Blues Eyes should just give it up..."). Marty and his wife and their two kids were all sick with bad colds. They were packed up to move to Nashville where Marty was relocating to pursue his music career and a chance to sign with MCA Records with producer Jimmy Bowen and a management deal with Billy Strange. Marty and I played a few songs together there in the front room of the old box car; some he had written and a few of his dad's tunes, but no Bob Wills songs. Someone had sent him a tape of me playing Wills style western swing music (Tiny Moore may have sent Marty a copy of the tape I sent him) so he wanted to hear me play other styles. For some reason he didn't like my Rickenbacker guitar. (He wanted me to play a Fender Telecaster!) We talked about God and church as well as music as he was already getting involved in playing in churches and told me he was a Christian. It was nice meeting him and getting to play with him - especially in that tiny box car house where Merle grew up. He said he couldn't promise me anything which I understood. He moved to Nashville a few days later and he passed on the MCA contract and ended up signing with MTM Records a year later where he cut some singles - a couple of which got some chart action including 'Trains Make Me Lonesome'. We stayed in touch for about a year or two via telephone until he moved back to CA and I lost track of him. Fortunately, I was around Merle a lot over the years thru knowing a lot of guys in the band: Norm and Clint and especially guys from the Bob Wills Texas Playboys band Tiny Moore, Eldon Shamblin, Johnny Gimble and other guys. I'm glad this old box car was saved because I remember seeing in in later years just run down which was a shame. I asked Merle once what happened to that old place and he told me it had been sold after his mother passed away and he had been trying to buy it from the new owners who refused to sell it back to the Haggard family. A lot of history there! RIP Merle!
This video really tells a lot of stories, I love the design of this boxcar too by the way , after it was restored of course, I could just imagine what Merle was going through ,and how he felt seeing his old childhood home 🏡 again , and watching it being moved was heart a breaking period for him and Lilian, and I can relate in so many ways with them because, seeing this video made me think about my old home 🏡 , I grew up in an old farm house that my family moved into in the mid 1980s just outside Atlanta Georgia, my Mom and Daddy restored the house in 86 just after my oldest brother was born, they moved from Atlanta to Marrietta along with my grandparents and they whole family, and it was where my brothers and sister, grew up and lived from 1986 to 2006 , and the best memories that we have were right in that house my family moved out just last year , and I saw what our old home had looked now, and it literally made me think of old memories and my Grandfather who rebuilt the houses , time will move on but memories never will , I'm glad that they finally decided to restore the boxcar and display it to the public because this was the home to an American icon who represented people like us, God bless you Merle Haggard and your family.
Thanks for posting, Ben! I can't imagine what was going through your Dad's mind when he walked through there. So many memories I'm sure. I've read a lot about that box car house in his books, interviews, etc. There's not much on Mighty Merle I haven't read. He will always be my all-time hero. Thanks to you both, and the others for all you have given us fans. God Bless Merle Haggard, the Haggard family, and the Strangers!
In 1990 I went to work for Warner Cable & installing catv in this Boxcar Home was my first solo job, had no idea at that time the history of the place, I wish I had known, since I grew up in Btown & was & still am a huge fan...small world y'all..
This breaks my Bakersfield heart... I hate seeing all the reporters hounding him, this was a personal time for Merle, and sheriff Youngblood made it a publicity stunt. I hate Youngblood as all my fellow Bakersfield/Oildale native do as well.
+Ben Haggard THANK YOU for making us part of this by posting this video.PLEASE tell Merle we're praying for him since hearing he is very sick.We love him very much,and hoping he is doing better.God Bless you all Ben!!
Great post! I'm so happy that a real piece of true American History can now be preserved. Merle, your music is so important to so many of us. My Dad came from Depew, Oklahoma to Beaumont California just about the same time that your family moved to Oildale. I truly wish you and your family well. You have been blessed with a talent that has touched so many, including the great Ben Haggard, your Son. I'm 49 years old and looking forward to hearing many years of his guitar playin. The apple doesn't fall far. All The Best- HAG.
only a true haggard fan would drive 1600 miles to see that little boxcar house...well that is what my wife and I did three years ago...I had the address and we indeed found the place..at first we thought they tore it down...but then we drove around back to the alley and sure enough it was there and...years ago someone built a house in front of it on the same lot...so you cannot see it from the street...but with this video I got to see the stove that flossie haggard cooked meal on...I got to see much more than I did back in the alley...thanks so much for posting this video...how can I love someone I have never met?well, I love merle...
In 1968-1969 my grand parents tore down an old Barn. They built them HOUSE with the wood in N/E Arkansas ,I helped carry the lumber & bricks when I was 10. They died in the 1970s and I went in the Army and never saw that house again. You know in 2004 I went there to Arkansas and I found my GrandMa's old house they built ,and it looked so different. I barley remembered where it was. Another family had bought it a long time ago. I knocked on the door and the old man & woman came out and I told them about the house. They were sure surprised to hear the story of the house. They invited me in for a minute and as SOON as I stepped through that door, Man I was back in 1969 AGAIN. The floors, the rooms and all were just as grandma had left it. It hit me so hard I got something in my eyes... Well I thanked those old people and I drove away slow, just lookin' at it .... I Took a trip on the memory train that day. I'm glad it stopped at the station in Arkansas! Thank you for the memories Ben. Merle thank you too , I hope YOU enjoyed your "train ride" ! -Herb :)
One of the best entertainers of all times. I have seen him 3 times in concert. Years ago my husband drove the Chill Factor for Shanks trucking. He was given a jacket that has Hag Trucking on it . We still have it today. Love you Merle.
My wife and I were out at the Kern County Museum/Pioneer Village on Sunday 4/9/17 to witness the dedication of Merle's restored boxcar home. All of the music was good but I was there to hear Ben Haggard. He was great! Ben, I hope you get that one big break, an original hit song that allows your music to be heard by the masses. I'm a big fan!
Met merle, Ben, and Merle's family before a show in my home state of ALABAMA. He shared a personal moment with me what seemed like an hour. Looked me directly in the eyes when talking to me and told me never to give up. 6 months later he passed away. The most powerful and most gratifying meeting in my life. Everyone and the entire world misses you MERLE!
Every video that I have seen of Merle whether like this or an interview, he was always a nice guy. Was Merle always this down to Earth? I miss him already!
When I go home I remember a lot of good times and bad times. Usually a certain object I see brings back memories. The best part was moms cooking. But memories have it ugly part to.
This is fantastic. You should write a song about this special moment Ben. It was honour to watch this video of your Dad in the ole Boxcar. Great memories. 👍
Your father was truly the best Ben , my Father and Mother and Grandparents listened to his music , not only because we're country music fans but because Merle understood and felt the pain of the poor and down troaden in this world just as, Johnny Cash and George Jones , and Charlie Pride and so many others did , Your Grandfather and Grandmother built this house with pride and love , and it will be shown to millions around the world how much it meant your family ,My family is working middle class and take by pride , it goes to show that you are all just like us , but having the passion and respect of the poor and proud.👍🙂
Let’s write song about we’re Merle Haggard grow up as childhood days memories. Before he become a big star. Maybe both Sons write about artist dream look back childhood days memories Lane road. . Thank You share with True Fans. God Bless Merle Haggard up in heaven now, but never Forget, his music live on Forever. Still remember classic hit songs. Thank You. Why Floods take away childhood home.
My brother in law worked at Raleys in Redding he would see your dad in the store from time to time never turned anyone down that wanted an autograph. I've always been fan for as long as I can remember. Wish he could have lived long enough to have seen the boxcar fully restored
😢That’s so sad. I lived in a weighing hut for the railroad and on their property and ate from dumpsters cooked on rocks outside with momma😢and the trains load and pass by all the time.Crack’s in the walls 1/4 “ at each board.Cardboard and newspaper was mommies wall paper . Life was hard back then
Ben., I was just thinking, its awesome you have so much video across the word of your dad. If you ever feel the need to reconnect with your dad, home videos and videos like this help a lot more than just still pictures. I lost my dad in November 2015. Sadly I only have about 5 videos no longer than a minute or two of my dad. While I wish I had thought to make more., I'm glad I have what I do of him. I can reconnect, almost, almost as if he were still here. Just wanted to share my thoughts with ya. I can only imagine the mixed feelings of Merle watching his childhood home torn down.
Did Merle take that oven home with him? I would have! What great memories. I'm going to go visit my childhood home next month in Natchez, Ms now after seeing this. Thanks Ben. KC
Seems a bit odd to me she would ask Merle if being back in that house made him feel close to his Dad....not saying it was good or bad, just odd...Merle was a song writing god in my house when I was growin up, still is, from his 33lp's to 8 tracks to cassettes, my Dad always had Merle playin in the garage or the house...even have some pictures of Merle singin at the Circle Star arena in San Carlos, Calif from the 70's and early 80's....thanks for uploading this vid :-)
Preservationists are raising money to buy, restore and move the boxcar to the Kern County Museum in nearby Bakersfield. The campaign to “Save Hag’s Boxcar” would involve disassembling and restoring it to its 1940s glory, as well as building a new dwelling for the current occupant. www.nytimes.com/2014/02/27/us/preservationists-aim-to-save-merle-haggards-childhood-home.html?_r=0
Had the pleasure to go here last weekend to celebrate your father’s music and its impact on my life! Hope you and your family are taking care of yourselves these days! ❤
How awesome of u to take your father back to relive his child hood ..Brought tears to my eyes Ben Haggard !!! Thank you so much for sharing
I can only imagine what Merle was thinking when he saw his home for the first time in so many many years. It had to be hard to see your boyhood home in this condition. Changes taking place right before your very eyes as they are dismantling a house along with its memories, numbered piece by piece so it can be put back together again, but only in a new location. It's great they can preserve things like this but at the same time, as Merle put it so mildly, " Even the memories have left this place" Everyone has come and gone, the memories that were once there are no longer and as much as one is wanting those memories to remain, the fact is, the memories left a long, long time ago. All that's left are the memories in ones own heart.......
I was away from home for 15 years and when I got back everything seemed so small
Thanks Ben for sharing this with all of The Mighty Merle Haggard fans. God Bless you and your family. RIP Merle. . Praying your Brother Scott finds his recognition in the Haggard family. God Bless you all
Thanks a million Ben. Loved your dad and his music (and you are doing great things keeping his music alive...that's fantastic) I do some singing myself and I always have to do some of your dad's songs. I'll miss that man FOREVER as many will. God bless you, your dad and the rest of the family!!!
Humble beginnings. Its no wonder the Working Man's Poet put so much feeling in his songs.
Nobody could ever say that legendary country singer Merle Haggard grew up with a "Silver Spoon" in his mouth ! What a great video to share, no wonder he is still considered "The Poet Of The Common Man" !!
I'm going to be a puddle of tears when this man is gone. Let's enjoy them while we got these guys around.
+rickyd0821 And today he is gone. RIP
I can't imagine what was going through his mind.
Your 3 sons are doing a brilliant job at singing and are loved by many as you, Theresa and Bonnie are to.
Rip legend
It is amazing that Merle loved this old boxcar so much, he relived the past every day of his life, glad he lived to see all this happen. Merle was an amazing man to go thru all he did and become an incredible singer and still, just be a simple man, and not build a mansion just because he could. He is a big man in my eyes, as I saw my husband go thru some of these things growing up and he lived a good life in later years. He also was a singer in country music but did not know Merle personally. This is great that Merle rose above all those hardships.One can only imagine what this could of been like growing up.
Back then time’s were tough rough and strong!Due to it,people were too.Boxcar’s made today is a joke like everything else.
Wow! That stove! In the 50's (around 1953-54) my mom & dad ate biscuits and pie that Merle's mother Flossie Haggard baked in that old O'Keefe & Merritt stove in that old converted Santa Fe Railroad refrigerator car (box car used to transport perishables that had to be kept on ice) out on Yosemite Drive in Oildale! Dad & Flossie both worked at the Empress Dry Cleaners there in Oildale where dad was the cleaner and she worked as a part time presser & book keeper for the shop. My folks lived around the corner from Mrs. Haggard who was a widow that worked hard and took care of her wayward son Merle. Occasionally she invited my folks over to play Pinochle with her and another friend she kept company with. They'd play cards and drink coffee, and she usually had pie and biscuits to snack on while they played. Merle came home one night as they were playing and said hello to my folks as he grabbed a couple biscuits off that stove then told his mama that he was gonna go listen to 'Uncle Buck' (Buck Owens at the Blackboard - Merle called him 'uncle' back then!) - He grabbed his acoustic guitar out of the closet and told everyone bye bye and left. He was about 15 or 16 then!
My dad played guitar in some of those old beer joints up there in Bakersfield up on Beer Can Hill as they called it and other popular night spots including High Pockets, Rainbow Gardens, The Lucky Spot & Tex's Barrell House where some local acts including Texas fiddler Uncle Jimmy Thomasson and others that he played for and with. By day my dad worked in the dry cleaners and he played in bands in the beer joints at night on weekends. I was almost born in Bakersfield but circumstances led my folks back to southern CA where I was born in mid-1955.
In the mid 80's I got to know Merle via Tiny Moore who introduced us briefly on Saturday, September 22, 1984 when he performed at the Hemet Hospital Fundraiser Ramona Bowl summer concert series event, after informing me that Marty Haggard was putting a band together and had expressed some interest in needing a guitar player who knew Bob Wills music which I'd grew up on. When I met Merle by his bus he gave me Marty's phone number in Bakersfield. I contacted him and he was living in this old box car home his dad had grown up in which was still owned by his grandma Flossie Haggard which she rented out.
A few months later I drove up to Bakersfield and stayed at some of my relatives (lots of family there!) and went over to meet and play with Marty. It was Super Bowl Sunday January 20th 1985 - (when I arrived Frank Sinatra had just sang on some news clip or in a commercial on TV. I recall Marty said his dad had remarked to him that "Old Blues Eyes should just give it up..."). Marty and his wife and their two kids were all sick with bad colds. They were packed up to move to Nashville where Marty was relocating to pursue his music career and a chance to sign with MCA Records with producer Jimmy Bowen and a management deal with Billy Strange. Marty and I played a few songs together there in the front room of the old box car; some he had written and a few of his dad's tunes, but no Bob Wills songs. Someone had sent him a tape of me playing Wills style western swing music (Tiny Moore may have sent Marty a copy of the tape I sent him) so he wanted to hear me play other styles. For some reason he didn't like my Rickenbacker guitar. (He wanted me to play a Fender Telecaster!)
We talked about God and church as well as music as he was already getting involved in playing in churches and told me he was a Christian. It was nice meeting him and getting to play with him - especially in that tiny box car house where Merle grew up. He said he couldn't promise me anything which I understood. He moved to Nashville a few days later and he passed on the MCA contract and ended up signing with MTM Records a year later where he cut some singles - a couple of which got some chart action including 'Trains Make Me Lonesome'. We stayed in touch for about a year or two via telephone until he moved back to CA and I lost track of him.
Fortunately, I was around Merle a lot over the years thru knowing a lot of guys in the band: Norm and Clint and especially guys from the Bob Wills Texas Playboys band Tiny Moore, Eldon Shamblin, Johnny Gimble and other guys. I'm glad this old box car was saved because I remember seeing in in later years just run down which was a shame. I asked Merle once what happened to that old place and he told me it had been sold after his mother passed away and he had been trying to buy it from the new owners who refused to sell it back to the Haggard family. A lot of history there! RIP Merle!
ChristianFreeman Interesting comment, thank you.
Your dates don't add up..
This video really tells a lot of stories, I love the design of this boxcar too by the way , after it was restored of course, I could just imagine what Merle was going through ,and how he felt seeing his old childhood home 🏡 again , and watching it being moved was heart a breaking period for him and Lilian, and I can relate in so many ways with them because, seeing this video made me think about my old home 🏡 , I grew up in an old farm house that my family moved into in the mid 1980s just outside Atlanta Georgia, my Mom and Daddy restored the house in 86 just after my oldest brother was born, they moved from Atlanta to Marrietta along with my grandparents and they whole family, and it was where my brothers and sister, grew up and lived from 1986 to 2006 , and the best memories that we have were right in that house my family moved out just last year , and I saw what our old home had looked now, and it literally made me think of old memories and my Grandfather who rebuilt the houses , time will move on but memories never will , I'm glad that they finally decided to restore the boxcar and display it to the public because this was the home to an American icon who represented people like us, God bless you Merle Haggard and your family.
@@dennisschell5543 maybe it's your dates that don't add up. Lol
Thanks for posting, Ben! I can't imagine what was going through your Dad's mind when he walked through there. So many memories I'm sure. I've read a lot about that box car house in his books, interviews, etc. There's not much on Mighty Merle I haven't read. He will always be my all-time hero. Thanks to you both, and the others for all you have given us fans. God Bless Merle Haggard, the Haggard family, and the Strangers!
In 1990 I went to work for Warner Cable & installing catv in this Boxcar Home was my first solo job, had no idea at that time the history of the place, I wish I had known, since I grew up in Btown & was & still am a huge fan...small world y'all..
Thanks Ben for posting such a personal visit. Very sad for your loss. Keep the music going I think your Dad taught you well. Aroha from New Zealand.
Makes me want to cry - I know it brings back so many Memories to him . it should never been sold .should have stayed in the family .
This breaks my Bakersfield heart... I hate seeing all the reporters hounding him, this was a personal time for Merle, and sheriff Youngblood made it a publicity stunt. I hate Youngblood as all my fellow Bakersfield/Oildale native do as well.
Oh my
+Ben Haggard THANK YOU for making us part of this by posting this video.PLEASE tell Merle we're praying for him since hearing he is very sick.We love him very much,and hoping he is doing better.God Bless you all Ben!!
Memories are bittersweet always. Thx for sharing.
Thinking of your family and everyone who loved you.....you leave a beautiful story for many to remember thanks for being real.
Great post! I'm so happy that a real piece of true American History can now be preserved. Merle, your music is so important to so many of us. My Dad came from Depew, Oklahoma to Beaumont California just about the same time that your family moved to Oildale. I truly wish you and your family well. You have been blessed with a talent that has touched so many, including the great Ben Haggard, your Son. I'm 49 years old and looking forward to hearing many years of his guitar playin. The apple doesn't fall far. All The Best- HAG.
Jerry Richardson
only a true haggard fan would drive 1600 miles to see that little boxcar house...well that is what my wife and I did three years ago...I had the address and we indeed found the place..at first we thought they tore it down...but then we drove around back to the alley and sure enough it was there and...years ago someone built a house in front of it on the same lot...so you cannot see it from the street...but with this video I got to see the stove that flossie haggard cooked meal on...I got to see much more than I did back in the alley...thanks so much for posting this video...how can I love someone I have never met?well, I love merle...
Ben..this here has got the makings of a well written song about ya Daddy's early years..maybe even a movie. loved his songs for 40 years
In 1968-1969 my grand parents tore down an old Barn. They built them HOUSE with the wood in N/E Arkansas ,I helped carry the lumber & bricks when I was 10.
They died in the 1970s and I went in the Army and never saw that house again.
You know in 2004 I went there to Arkansas and I found my GrandMa's old house they built ,and it looked so different. I barley remembered where it was. Another family had bought it a long time ago. I knocked on the door and the old man & woman came out and I told them about the house. They were sure surprised to hear the story of the house. They invited me in for a minute and as SOON as I stepped through that door, Man I was back in 1969 AGAIN. The floors, the rooms and all were just as grandma had left it. It hit me so hard I got something in my eyes...
Well I thanked those old people and I drove away slow, just lookin' at it ....
I Took a trip on the memory train that day. I'm glad it stopped at the station in Arkansas!
Thank you for the memories Ben.
Merle thank you too ,
I hope YOU enjoyed your "train ride" ! -Herb :)
+Herb Walker sounds like that old house went to some good people. you must've felt good knowing that.
Old memories for Merle. Times were tough in those years.
One of the best entertainers of all times. I have seen him 3 times in concert. Years ago my husband drove the Chill Factor for Shanks trucking. He was given a jacket that has Hag Trucking on it . We still have it today. Love you Merle.
Wow... talk about drumming up old memories... I can't even begin to imagine how Merle feels about all of this! Amazing! Thanks for posting Ben!
I hope it can be restored in perfect condition.
I had such a crush on Merle Haggard when I was little - just loved his voice. I still do. :)
Love Merle Haggrad He was one of the best ever.
God Bless! Merle
My wife and I were out at the Kern County Museum/Pioneer Village on Sunday 4/9/17 to witness the dedication of Merle's restored boxcar home. All of the music was good but I was there to hear Ben Haggard. He was great!
Ben, I hope you get that one big break, an original hit song that allows your music to be heard by the masses. I'm a big fan!
Met merle, Ben, and Merle's family before a show in my home state of ALABAMA. He shared a personal moment with me what seemed like an hour. Looked me directly in the eyes when talking to me and told me never to give up. 6 months later he passed away. The most powerful and most gratifying meeting in my life. Everyone and the entire world misses you MERLE!
Good old Bakersfield, my hometown. Merle is a national treasure.
Wow, Very Moving..Merle always seems so sad...
Every video that I have seen of Merle whether like this or an interview, he was always a nice guy. Was Merle always this down to Earth? I miss him already!
Thank you sooooo much....LOVED EVERY SECOND OF IT..
When I go home I remember a lot of good times and bad times. Usually a certain object I see brings back memories. The best part was moms cooking. But memories have it ugly part to.
This is fantastic. You should write a song about this special moment Ben. It was honour to watch this video of your Dad in the ole Boxcar. Great memories. 👍
Your father was truly the best Ben , my Father and Mother and Grandparents listened to his music , not only because we're country music fans but because Merle understood and felt the pain of the poor and down troaden in this world just as, Johnny Cash and George Jones , and Charlie Pride and so many others did , Your Grandfather and Grandmother built this house with pride and love , and it will be shown to millions around the world how much it meant your family ,My family is working middle class and take by pride , it goes to show that you are all just like us , but having the passion and respect of the poor and proud.👍🙂
I grew up not far from there. I hope they make it pretty. We've loved Merle forever. :-)
Thank you, Thank you, Thank you for posting!!
No problem!
Ben Haggard hello Ben, Loved your Daddy and his music brother
I agree! What a blessing to have been able to grow up listening to his awesome voice!
So many wonderful memories! THANK YOU FOR SHARING!
I saw it and walked inside it at the Kern County museum in Bakersfield. A very memorable experience for me.
Let’s write song about we’re Merle Haggard grow up as childhood days memories. Before he become a big star. Maybe both Sons write about artist dream look back childhood days memories Lane road. . Thank You share with True Fans. God Bless Merle Haggard up in heaven now, but never Forget, his music live on Forever. Still remember classic hit songs. Thank You. Why Floods take away childhood home.
My brother in law worked at Raleys in Redding he would see your dad in the store from time to time never turned anyone down that wanted an autograph. I've always been fan for as long as I can remember. Wish he could have lived long enough to have seen the boxcar fully restored
Thanks Ben. Meant a lot to me to see this for some reason.
Thanks for posting this Ben!
poor Kern river is gone rest in peace merle you and your music will last for ever
wow.he's on wrangler jeans. i have a couple of them wrangler. great jeans
RIP Merle!
😢That’s so sad. I lived in a weighing hut for the railroad and on their property and ate from dumpsters cooked on rocks outside with momma😢and the trains load and pass by all the time.Crack’s in the walls 1/4 “ at each board.Cardboard and newspaper was mommies wall paper . Life was hard back then
Ben., I was just thinking, its awesome you have so much video across the word of your dad. If you ever feel the need to reconnect with your dad, home videos and videos like this help a lot more than just still pictures. I lost my dad in November 2015. Sadly I only have about 5 videos no longer than a minute or two of my dad. While I wish I had thought to make more., I'm glad I have what I do of him. I can reconnect, almost, almost as if he were still here. Just wanted to share my thoughts with ya. I can only imagine the mixed feelings of Merle watching his childhood home torn down.
ImTheDaveman i
Did Merle take that oven home with him? I would have! What great memories. I'm going to go visit my childhood home next month in Natchez, Ms now after seeing this. Thanks Ben.
KC
Very educational. Ty merle
My heroes RIP merle
Now I want to listen to mommas hungry eyes!
Seems a bit odd to me she would ask Merle if being back in that house made him feel close to his Dad....not saying it was good or bad, just odd...Merle was a song writing god in my house when I was growin up, still is, from his 33lp's to 8 tracks to cassettes, my Dad always had Merle playin in the garage or the house...even have some pictures of Merle singin at the Circle Star arena in San Carlos, Calif from the 70's and early 80's....thanks for uploading this vid :-)
u can't rate Merle he's a legend I have 27 albums of his over 40 years and what a pleasure to know he has u boys to follow on cheers for australia
there are sections of Los Angeles county that are quite similar to this neighborhood.
nice ben ...was always for years wondering hw his home was....
To all that love Merle and his family they just named a post office in Bakersfield after Merle Haggard Officiated by Rep. Kevin McCarthy
Please, media robot, give your career a rest and let the moment stand on its own.
then you wouldn't have this video, silly
where was this filmed and where did they relocate it? this is awesome. thanks for posting
Chicken cackles at 1:10
Why are they numbering the pieces, are they rebuilding it or relocating it?
Preservationists are raising money to buy, restore and move the boxcar to the Kern County Museum in nearby Bakersfield. The campaign to “Save Hag’s Boxcar” would involve disassembling and restoring it to its 1940s glory, as well as building a new dwelling for the current occupant. www.nytimes.com/2014/02/27/us/preservationists-aim-to-save-merle-haggards-childhood-home.html?_r=0
Shirley Youngman wow thats awesome!!! I absolutely love history especially Merle Haggard. What a great story... thanks Shirley
Wow
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the ole guy talking is that Merles older brother?
Actually I do believe that is his older brothers son, Lowell Haggard, Merle's nephew.
I'm living in Gold Canyon just let me know went you want to stop by :)