[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 60 (Tuesday, April 19, 2016)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E521]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            RECOGNIZING THE 150TH ANNIVERSARY OF KERN COUNTY

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. KEVIN McCARTHY

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, April 19, 2016

  Mr. McCARTHY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the 150th 
anniversary of Kern County, California, which I am proud to represent.
  When the California legislature founded Kern in 1866, they could not 
have imagined the empire they were creating. The borders they drew 
circumscribed a vast, underpopulated territory slightly smaller than 
New Jersey, where Spanish ranchers grazed their herds beside Paiute and 
Yokuts tribes living as they had for centuries. A few determined 
pioneer families worked the land, preparing that first cycle of 
spiraling growth and development that would ever afterward characterize 
our County.
  Agriculture came first. Kern's early farmers planted cotton--our 
original cash crop--in 1865. Waves of settlers from the crowded East 
and the farthest stretches of the Old World brought new seeds, orchards 
and vineyards, carrots, almonds, and all the bounty of the Earth that 
would flourish in the rich alluvial soil and Mediterranean climate of 
the San Joaquin. Last year's $7.4 billion harvest is but the latest 
manifestation of the vast fertility of our Valley, a miracle of 
irrigation, agronomy, and hard work.
  As the 19th Century ended Kern discovered an abundance of that 
resource which would dictate the 20th: petroleum. The Kern River strike 
of 1899 set new records in the West, unsurpassed until a still larger 
reservoir in West Kern spouted 24 million barrels in 1910. Energy 
quickly joined agriculture to become the twin engine of Kern's economy, 
augmenting the steady clip of rural development with the iridescent 
bloom of oil wealth.
  Just as suddenly, a supersonic boom in the skies above Kern announced 
the birth of modern flight in 1947, and with it, the introduction of 
high-tech aerospace to our County. It was a natural fit. For whenever 
our community applies itself to a new challenge, it leverages that 
unique fusion of technical talent and practical entrepreneurialism that 
makes possible such feats of industry and science as accomplished in 
our County. Consider that Kern not only produces more petroleum than 
any other county in America, but also provides half of California's 
renewable energy, much of it from windfarms pioneered in our own 
Tehachapi Mountains. In agriculture too, our people were not content 
with the Valley's natural advantages, but invested in cutting-edge drip 
irrigation and precision sprinkler systems to double Kern's crop yield 
in less than 50 years while conserving water. And so in aerospace, 
where many of the same scientists responsible for the best military 
aircraft in history are now inventing a new industry--civilian space 
flight--in desert laboratories at the world's first spaceport, in 
Mojave, California.
  There is so much about Kern that inspires pride. Those things I 
mention today are only the contours of our accomplishments, the 
tangible residue of the life's work of generations--visible and easy to 
identify. The true value of Kern, measured by the compassion and 
quality of our families and neighbors, is not so easily described. To 
understand this, you must know the people. You must live, and laugh, 
and love as fiercely as we do. You must walk the streets of 
Bakersfield. It is our home--my home--forever.

                          ____________________