People

What did Merle Haggard’s dad do?

Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr

Merle Ronald Haggard, an 81-year-old American country music musician, songwriter, guitarist, and fiddler, passed away on April 6, 2016.

In Oildale, California, towards the tail end of the Great Depression, Haggard was born. His boyhood was difficult after his father went away, and although he was still a child, he frequently spent time in jail. After he was released from San Quentin State Prison in 1960, he was able to start again and launch a successful career in country music.

What did Merle Haggard’s dad do?

Haggard was born to James Francis Haggard and Flossie Mae Haggard (1899–1946). The family fled Checotah, Oklahoma, after their barn caught fire in 1934, and moved to California during the Great Depression.

They relocated to an apartment in Bakersfield with their two oldest children, Lillian and James “Lowell,” while James started working for the Santa Fe Railroad (1922-1996).

Haggard’s father was questioned over the idea of converting a woman’s boxcar in the nearby village of Oildale into a residence.

On April 6, 1937, after the man had moved in and restored the boxcar, Merle Ronald Haggard was born there. Also, he had purchased the land. In the end, the home in the adjacent lot had a bathroom, a second bedroom, a kitchen, and a breakfast nook added to it.

Nature is Beautiful.