Huell Howser at Carrizo Plain National Monument in Kern County. Photo courtesy of Huell Howser Productions

The recently completed restoration of the Lopez-Hill House is now open for tours at the Kern County Museum. Photo courtesy of the Kern County Museum

Huell Howser stands alongside the massive petroglyphs at Red Rock Canyon State Park. Photo courtesy of Huell Howser Productions

Huell Howser attends the 95th anniversary of the City of Taft during Oildorado Days 2005. Photo courtesy of Huell Howser Productions

By Jennifer Baldwin, Bakersfield Express Editor

There isn’t a corner of Kern County that Huell Howser doesn’t love. So when KVPT Valley Public Television asked the 20-year host of “California’s Gold” to pick a couple of episodes filmed here for a Salute to Kern County, it was hard to choose.

“I love Kern County for its diversity,” Howser said in a recent phone interview from his home base of Los Angeles. “Just the difference between the Kern River Valley in the east and McKittrick in the west, and the oil, cotton, grapes and everything in between … then you have Bakersfield, which has really grown into a metropolitan, cosmopolitan place, with the Basque food, art galleries, and symphony concerts. What I love the most is the diversity of experiences you can have there and the people who live there are not pretentious or stuck up.”

Out of the approximately 25 shows Howser has filmed here, both for “California’s Gold” and his 10-year program “Road Trip With Huell Howser,” he’s chosen four that he believes really highlight Kern County’s diversity. There’s Taft’s Oildorado Days, a trip through Bakersfield, Red Rock Canyon State Park, and the premiere of “Lopez-Hill House,” the most recent show filmed here about the restoration of the newest addition to the Kern County Museum. The programs will air from 8 to 10 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 21, and from 6 to 9 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 24 on KVPT.

For “Lopez-Hill House,” Howser visited Bakersfield before the 100-year-old home was moved from its property on Rosedale Highway, where business development had sprung up all around it. Then he returned after the house was restored on the grounds of the Kern County Museum, where he interviewed members of the families who had lived in the home over the years.

“What’s interesting about the house, and the way we emphasize it in the show, is it was much more than just a house. It was a home for families who were living the California dream,” Howser said. “And the last lady who lived there, she held on to that house when she could have sold it for a lot of money. But she refused because it meant so much to her. She lived and died in that house. You can tell in both segments the families take great pride in that home.”

According to www.movethishouse.org, the website dedicated to the moving and restoration of the structure, the house has actually been moved twice: “This home was originally situated at the southwest corner of Chester and California Avenues as the home of Jose J. (J.J.) Lopez, long time manager of the renowned Tejon Ranch. As was common through Bakersfield history, the home was moved when commercial development of downtown encroached on its originally residential area. It has occupied the southwest corner of Rosedale Highway and Calloway Drive since 1953.”

In 2005, the final occupant, Lavern Hill, passed away and in 2007, the Kern County Museum accepted the donation of the house and set about moving and restoring it. The home is now open for tours.

One of those interviewed by Howser, Joseph Davis, the grandson of the home’s builder J.J. Lopez, passed away on Jan. 7 this year. His story will forever be preserved by the museum and California’s Gold.

“He lived a very rich, full, colorful life and this is a tribute to him and all the families who have shared that home,” Howser said.

As for the other episodes airing as part of the Salute to Kern County, Howser couldn’t pass up choosing “Oildorado,” filmed at the 2005 Oildorado Days in Taft. The event takes place every five years, and Howser says he’s already gotten his invitation to Oildorado Days 2010, which will be Oct. 15-24. This will be Taft’s 100th anniversary celebration and will include the dedication of the Taft Oilworker Monument being created by sculptor, and Taft native, Benjamin Victor.

“We’ll not only be there, we’ll be doing a BIG program there,” said Howser, who also says the West Kern Oil Museum in Taft is one of the best in the nation.

And no salute to Kern would be complete without a road trip through Bakersfield. This particular episode includes visits to the Tule Elk State Reserve, Buck Owens’ Crystal Palace, Woolgrowers, and Guthrie’s Alley Cat.

Howser says his favorite things to eat in Bakersfield are Dewar’s Chews. (“I’m kinda addicted,” he said.)

And it’s not that rare to see Howser at a couple of his other favorite Bakersfield establishments. He’ll often stop through town on his way to other destinations, and rumor has it he’ll drive to Bakersfield on a whim when he gets the urge for some Basque food.

“Whenever I’m in Bakersfield I try to have lunch at Luigi’s and dinner at Woolgrowers,” he said. “What I love is it’s impossible to go in there and not see a lot of people you know.”

Howser has made a lot of friends in Kern County during the 20 years he’s been coming here. The Nashville native says he feels like part of our community. While we joke that Bakersfield is “Nashville West,” Howser jokes that Nashville is “Bakersfield East.”

Howser says there is so much to do and see in Kern County, one could never get bored. That’s what keeps him coming back so much. In fact, he says if he had the time, he’d move here.

“But my concern,” he added, “is that I would weigh 350 pounds from having lunch every day at Luigi’s and dinner every day at Woolgrowers.”

KVPT Salute to Kern County

Road Trip With Huell Howser: “Oildorado”
8 p.m.. Thursday, Jan. 21 and 6 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 24

Road Trip With Huell Howser: “Bakersfield”
9 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 21 and 7 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 24

California’s Gold: “Lopez-Hill House”
8 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 24

California’s Golden Parks: “Red Rock Canyon State Park”
8:30 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 24