Citizens Preserving History

Citizens Preserving History was established by sisters, Glenda Rankin and Dianne Sharman, in 2012. They are passionate about preserving history in Kern County. In 2008, after years of hard work, their dream of moving their mother's home to the Kern County Museum. They were dedicated to researching the history of the home, fundraising for the relocation and restoration, and are now docents in the Lopez Hill Home. In 2012 they established this non-profit to help continue preserving the history of this great area.
Their next project was the relocation and restoration of Merle Haggard's childhood home. Merle Haggard and country music have deep roots in Kern County. It only seemed right to them that Merle's childhood box car home was saved. They worked with the owners of the home, Lillian Haggard Rae (Merle's sister), and the Kern County Museum to get this project moving forward.
In July 2015 the boxcar was moved from Oildale, just down the road to the Kern County Museum. The box car was then restored and opened to the public in April 2017.
CItizens Preserving History continues to host events and fundraisers to support the preservation of history in the local community of Kern County.