See the streets of Bakersfield
Snowbirds usually just pass through Bakersfield, California, on their way to Arizona, but it is worth taking a day to explore the city. Bakersfield is 110 miles north of Los Angeles and is known as the gateway to the San Joaquin Valley. The city has a population of 358,000.
Bakersfield and area is known for agriculture, oil, natural gas, aerospace technology, manufacturing and food processing. Check at your local supermarket for Grimmway, which exports potatoes, onions and carrots to Canada. Bolthouse Farms exports various vegetables, smoothies, juices and salad dressings. What Bakersfield is best known for, however, is country music.
The Bakersfield sound
Buck Owens was a local musician, singer and songwriter with his band the Buckaroos. Owens also became known nationally for his appearance on a television show called Hee Haw from 1969 to 1986. Eventually Owens would be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. He pioneered what came to be known as the Bakersfield sound: bass, rhythm, lead and steel guitar backed with drums. Owens disliked polished, elaborate orchestral productions. Some of his 21 no. 1 hits were Under Your Spell Again, Love’s Gonna Live Here and Crying Time.
Owens had an impact on other musicians including Merle Haggard, Dwight Yoakam, Ferlin Husky, the Mavericks, Emmylou Harris, John Fogerty and the Eagles. The Rolling Stones even included Bakersfield in one of their songs, Far Away Eyes, while the Beatles recorded Act Naturally.
Owens’ Crystal Palace, completed in 1996, is located on a boulevard named after him, not far off Highway 99. It has a restaurant, museum and theatre seating up to 550 people, and past performers include Garth Brooks, George Strait and Brad Paisley.
Museums
Museums are in abundance, with 13 in Bakersfield and area. There are museums about natural history and Native American culture, but three museums caught my interest. The first is the National Chavez Center near Keene, dealing with the life and work of labour activist Cesar Chavez. Another unique museum is called Weedpatch Camp near Arvin. When the Okies from Oklahoma came west, many arrived in Bakersfield to work as fruit farm labourers. Their first home were in the tin shacks of Weedpatch, as described in John Steinbeck’s 1939 novel the Grapes of Wrath.
The third major museum is the Kern County Museum that features displays on black gold or the oil industry and the Pioneer Village, which features 58 restored buildings from 1865 to 1945.
As for the rest of Bakersfield, take a walk down H Street and visit the old Fox Theatre and the Padre Hotel. Also check out a large number of buildings, including churches, that reflect the Spanish culture.
