[ FUN FACTS Trimb e's Tales Daylight Saving Time

BY MARSHALL TRIMBLE ARI ZONA STATE HISTORIAN

rizona has always taken pride in marching to the beat of A its own drum. For example, in the contiguous United States, all states but Arizona went on Daylight Saving Time (DST) last month. So, why doesn't Arizona recognize D ST? Do we have enough sunshine without it? Arizona did go on DST with the rest of the nation on June L 21, 1967.1he sun didn't set that day until almost a quarter of nine. 6 5 Restaurateurs and owners of drive-in theaters protested that it was killing . • business. Baseball umpires were wearing sunglasses during night games. In the spirit of"when they turn up the heat, I feel the pres- sure," the state legislature voted the following year to opt out on the law, and Arizona has been offDST ever since. The concept of Daylight Saving Time h as been around a long time. Ben Franklin first proposed it without success in 1784. It was fo rmally adopted in 1918 during World Vi/ar I to preserve daylight, provide standard time, and save energy. It proved so unpopular that it was repealed in 1919, but it was still a local option for states. It was reinstated during World Vvar II. After the war, DST ended again, and from 1945 to 1966, there was no federal law addressing it. States and towns could decide whether they wanted it. This created a colossal mess, especially in the twin cities of St. Paul/Minneapolis. In 1996, the Uniform Time Act mandated that DST begin on the fi rst Sunday in April and end on the last Sunday of October. Today, Arizona and H awaii are the only states that don't have DST. Even more confusing, in Arizona, the Navajo Reservation observes DST, but the Hopi Reservation doesn't. It's possible to drive north from Flagstaff to the Navajo Reservation and change time at Tuba City, then drive a mile to Moencopi on the Hopi Reservation and change time again. From there, drive across the Hopi Mesas to Ganado in Navajoland and change again. Then, drive sixty miles south to Holbrook and change time once more. If that sounds confusing, consider the time the politicians tried to create "Phoenix Time." During territorial years in Arizona, there was a long- running debate as to whether the territory was more closely tied to California or New Mexico, so a compromise was reached: Phoenix Time was created in which they split the difference, putting Arizona a half-hour after Pacific Time and a half­ hour before M ountain Time. Needless to say, that one created even more chaos and was quickly dropped. M y Navajo friends tell me that the only thing that matters up on the Navajo Reservation is "Indian Time." Mter reading this article, you may agree that they have the right idea. 111