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Bernie Fowler: The Oral Histories
Senator C. Bernard (Bernie) Fowler, one of Calvert County’s most respected and well-known political figures, has devoted his life to public service. In 2014, the Calvert Marine Museum partnered with the Maryland Sea Grant College and Watershed Productions to conduct a series of five video recorded oral history interviews with Senator Fowler.
Videographer Michael W. Fincham recorded and edited the interviews and prepared verbatim transcripts. Five separate interviewers posed questions that resulted in over seven hours of oral histories that cover a range of topics. In addition to Fowler’s biography and political career, topics include his advocacy in the areas of education, land use planning, and environmental issues.
C. Bernard Fowler was known as "Bernie" throughout his long career as a political and environmental leader in Calvert County, Maryland. In his public service he spearheaded efforts to raise the quality of public education, to improve land-use planning, and to restore the Patuxent River and Chesapeake Bay. Historian Richard Dodds interviews Bernie about his family, his schooling, his military service, and the life experience that shaped his efforts to guide Calvert County through an era of dramatic change. Click here to download the interview transcript. | Interview with Richard Dodds, 89 minutes Family background (01:25) |
C. Bernard Fowler began his influential political career in Calvert County, Maryland by leading a campaign to restore the Patuxent River. Raised in Broomes Island, "Bernie" served as president of the Board of Education, president of the County Commissioners, Maryland state senator, and long-standing member of the Chesapeake Bay Commission. He discusses his life in politics and environmental advocacy with Ann Swanson, executive director of the Chesapeake Bay Commission. Click here to download the interview transcript. | Interview with Ann Swanson, 114 minutes Religious commitment (03:48) |
C. Bernard “Bernie” Fowler began his influential political career in Calvert County, Maryland, by leading a campaign to restore the Patuxent River. Raised in the riverside community of Broomes Island, he helped launch landmark lawsuits that forced pollution reductions in the river and the Chesapeake Bay. In this conversation he talks with marine ecologist Walter Boynton about working with scientists to educate politicians and the public about environmental restoration. Click here to download the interview transcript | Interview with Walter Boynton, 111 minutes Chesapeake Bay Commission (3:33) |
C. Bernard “Bernie” Fowler was a political and environmental leader in Calvert County, Maryland who began his public service as president of the county’s Board of Education where he oversaw efforts to desegregate public schools and raise education quality. As a State Senator, he led the drive to require environmental education as part of the public school curriculum. In this interview with education advocate Wilson Parran, he discusses key issues that faced the public school system. Click here to download the interview transcript. | Interview with Wilson Parran, 72 minutes School desegregation (03:20) |
C. Bernard Fowler was known as “Bernie” throughout his career as a political and environmental leader in Calvert County, Maryland, where he served as president of the Board of Education, president of the Board of County Commissioners and a Maryland State Senator. Working with citizen leaders he helped create the Pleasant Peninsula Plan designed to guide development as a once-rural county entered an era of rapid growth. In this conversation, he discusses planning issues with Randi Vogt, a citizen activist and certified planner. | Interview with Randi Vogt, 91 minutes Earlier life in Calvert County (04:47) |
Funding for this project was provided by the Campbell Foundation, Bernie Fowler Jr., the Southern Maryland Heritage Area Association/Maryland Historical Trust, and the Calvert Marine Museum Society.
The museum extends special thanks to the interviewers and to Senator Bernie Fowler for his good natured cooperation and gracious hospitality throughout this project.