Spring ahead, Fall back

Just as sunflowers turn their heads to catch every sunbeam, so too have we discovered a simple way to get more from our sun.

Daylight Saving Time (fast time as it was called in 1957) gives us the opportunity to enjoy sunny summer evenings by moving our clocks an hour forward in the spring. By the way it is Daylight Saving Time and not Savings as most people say.  I call it savings.  Yet, the implementation of Daylight Saving Time has been fraught with controversy since Benjamin Franklin conceived of the idea. Even today, regions and countries routinely change their approaches to Daylight Saving Time.  Minneapolis and St. Paul once didn't have twin perspectives with regard to the clock. These two large cities are adjacent at some points and separated only by the Mississippi River at others, and are considered a single metropolitan area. In 1965, St. Paul decided to begin its Daylight Saving Time period early to conform to most of the nation, while Minneapolis felt it should follow Minnesota's state law, which stipulated a later start date. After intense inter-city negotiations and quarreling, the cities could not agree, and so the one-hour time difference went into effect, bringing a period of great time turmoil to the cities and surrounding areas."The fast time issue was one of the greatest legislative battles in Minnesota history . . .," declared the St. Paul Dispatch, May 20, 1960. The dispute was temporarily resolved with passage of a bill in 1957 that allowed the governor to adopt daylight savings time for the whole state.  And in 1959 in a special session of the Legislature, a permanent
daylight savings time law was approved. But in a compromise, its length was made the shortest in the nation -- extending from the fourth Sunday in May to the Tuesday following Labor Day.
In 1966, the U.S. Congress, tired of the patchwork daylight savings time zones across the country, passed a law that pre-empted state law and made daylight savings, which runs from
the first Sunday in April to the last Sunday in October, uniform.
I remember going with my Dad to informational meeting (fall of 1956) at the Grant Valley Townhall. Daylight Saving Time was put into law in 1957 in Minnesota.   The government official explained what Daylight Saving Time was and then turned it over to the public to ask questions. Charlie Schmidt, our neighbor said and I quote,"It's only another hour for our crops to dry up."  I was about to say you can't change the amount of sun we get, but when we get it when a big hand came over my mouth.  I asked my Dad why he hushed me in the meeting.  He said he knew what I was about to say and it would only embarrass Charlie.  I wish I had learned that life lesson that day.  The only times that I get into trouble to this day is when I open my mouth when I should just keep it closed.