ST. LEONARD, Md. – Sunday, June 11, 2023, marked the second “Bernie Fowler Wade-In” held since the event’s founder, former state Sen. Bernie Fowler’s death in December 2021.
Sunday’s event marked the 36th Annual wade-in where community participants are invited to walk into the Patuxent River and measure the “Sneaker Index.” The index was developed by Sen. Fowler to measure how many inches he could wade into the water and still see his white sneakers.
The torch has now been passed to his grandson, Cody Fowler, to carry on the tradition. Fowler wore his grandfather’s wade-in uniform: denim overalls, a straw hat, and the required white sneakers.
This year, the index measured 30 inches of visibility. This was the lowest reading the wade-in has recorded since 2014. Last year, the reading was recorded as 39 inches. When Sen. Fowler started the wade-in, the inaugural reading was 10 inches.
As the speakers prior to the traditional wade-in emphasized, the event is less about the “Sneaker Index” itself and more about the attention the yearly ritual brings to the health of the Patuxent River and the Chesapeake Bay Watershed as a whole.
Among those who spoke at the event included Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md., 5th), recently appointed executive director of the Chesapeake Bay Commission Anna Killius, Calvert County Commissioner President Earl F. “Buddy” Hance (R), and Charles County Commissioner President Reuben B. Collins II (D). Calvert County Commissioner Catherine Grasso (R) was also in attendance.
The poem “Bernie Fowler Day” by Tom Wisner was read on Sunday. An excerpt from the poem summarizes the mission of continuing Fowler’s tradition:
“You just wade out in the river,
give it all you got
Right up to your chest.
And then you pick your spot.
Next you take your peepers
And cast them slowly down
On the day we see our feet again
There’ll be celebration in this town.”
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