The times are not a-changin' in Indiana. \nIn the future, Oct. 30, 2005, might be remembered in the state's history as the day the time anomaly ended. Sunday officially marks the end of Hoosier resistance to the observance of daylight-saving time, as states in the Eastern Time zone will move their clocks back an hour, thus aligning themselves with Indiana. When 47 states move their clocks ahead in April, Indiana will join the DST world and "spring ahead" with the rest of the country. \nIndiana's welcoming of DST comes as a result of Senate Bill 127, passed in April by the Indiana General Assembly. Prior to passage, Arizona and Indiana were the only continental states that didn't observe DST as defined by the Uniform Time Act of 1966. Hawaii does not honor DST.\n"Indiana time" to Hoosiers and non-Hoosiers alike could be considered a bit confusing. For example, from the beginning of April until the end of October, when it's noon in Bloomington, it's noon in Chicago and 1 p.m. in New York City. From the end of October until the beginning of April, when it's noon in Bloomington, it's 11 a.m. in Chicago and noon in New York City. \nDan Knudsen, an IU geography professor, is not a native Hoosier, but recalls his past experience with "Indiana time." \n"I can speak as a person who came to Indiana 28 years ago, but can distinctly remember trying to figure out exactly when I needed to call Indiana from where I was," Knudsen said. "Indiana has always been a bit unusual with respect to the way we figure time." \nA major factor that leads to the state's time confusion involves the 15 counties observing DST. Five counties near Chicago and five counties near Evansville have honored DST and aligned with Central Daylight Time since the Uniform Time Act's passage. Adding more confusion, five counties in the surrounding areas near Cincinnati and Louisville, Ky., also honor DST, but with the Eastern time zone. \nThe remaining 77 counties, including Monroe, observe their own variation of both of these times in the Eastern Standard or "Indiana" time zone.\nThe U.S. Department of Transportation will now decide the time zone fates of 17 Indiana counties petitioning for a time zone switch to observe Central time zone instead of their current Eastern time. The debate about which time zone is correct for Indiana is as contentious and opaque as the debate over what a Hoosier is.
The Timeline of Time\nTime used to be simple. Noon came when the sun was at its highest point in the sky. Because of this fact, noon varied for different cities because of geographic positioning in relation to the sun. \nAfter sundials came railroads and the need for synchronized schedules as trains chugged across the country's heartland. As a result of the Standard Time Act of 1918, four time zones -- the Eastern, Central, Mountain and Pacific -- were established for the continental United States. All of Indiana was part of the Central time zone.\nDaylight-saving time in practice came from Europe, which initially adopted it as way to conserve fuel for lighting during the world wars. The United States observed the practice during World War II, only to stop it after the war's conclusion. \nSome Indiana communities continued to observe DST, though, and it became known as "fast time." When communities began observing DST year-round, they ultimately became aligned with the Eastern time zone. \nAccording to various sources, political furor in the state ensued when Hoosiers attempted to legally define the time in Indiana. The "fast timers" of the big cities battled proponents of Central time and the notion of no daylight-saving time. These latter advocates often represented agricultural communities in the western part of the state. They said changing the clock was unhealthy for cows. \nBrad Rortvedt, who grew up raising cattle and is now a dairy and feed consultant with the Larsen Cooperative of Weyauwega, Wis., said this theory holds no validity.\n"DST is not unhealthy or unnatural for a cow. You want to milk cows at a constant, continuous interval. The better you can do at keeping cows in a routine, the better they will perform," he said. "Even though DST will change the routine on those days you switch the clocks, it will only affect the cow over a short period of time."\nThe federal government got involved in 1961, dividing the state between the Central and Eastern time zones. In 1966, it announced that the United States would begin observing DST again. States could exempt themselves, however, if the entire state chose not to honor DST. Congress also shifted control of time to the U.S. Department of Transportation through the Uniform Time Act.\nTo settle Indiana's time zone debacle, the DOT proposed a compromise in response to then-Gov. Roger Branigin's request in 1967 to place all of Indiana in the Central time zone. Aside from the counties in Evansville and near Chicago that would remain on Central Daylight Time, the rest of the state would honor Eastern Standard Time year-round, thus putting it on the same time as those 10 counties for relatively half the year. Because it was convenient to commerce, the five counties near Cincinnati and Louisville were able to keep their clocks set with those cities as well. \nIn 1969, the DOT solution passed as legislation in the Indiana General Assembly. After the Indiana General Assembly overrode a veto by then-Gov. Edgar Whitcombin 1971, Congress and President Richard Nixon approved the federal amendment in 1972. Indiana time was born. \nIn 2005, Indiana state Rep. Gerald Torr, R-Carmel, sponsored legislation to begin honoring DST in 2006. \nBill Mosely, a public affairs specialist with the transportation department, said the department's recommendation of time for Indiana's 17 counties is forthcoming. This week, the department made a preliminary recommendation that five of the 17 counties requesting a move to Central time being granted that request: Knox, Perry, Pike, St. Joseph and Starke counties, according to Associated Press reports. \nThe agency plans to hold public hearings, however, in locations across the state during November and will still accept written comments, with final decisions expected to be made by January.\nAs for the recommendation, Knudsen pointed out, "Time is arbitrary. Ultimately, the time zone argument is only loosely related to the sun. It's fundamentally a political argument, much more so than a scientific one." \nIn Part 2 of this story, Indiana's politically divided sky resulting from the passage of Senate Bill 127.
