At Least Indiana Can Agree to Spring Forward

Yet even after the vote, Hoosiers were not looking at the same clock. Ten counties were on Central time, 82 on Eastern. Some have always felt drawn east or north, toward Ohio, Michigan and the Atlantic megalopolis on Eastern time, while others pulled west toward Illinois.

St. Joseph County, home to South Bend and the University of Notre Dame, was one of 17 counties that petitioned the federal government to move from the Eastern time zone to the Central. Naturally, the county itself was split on the issue. Gov. Mitchell E. Daniels Jr. (R) opposed the move as the U.S. Department of Transportation refereed.

The fans of Central time for St. Joseph lost, prompting Notre Dame business professor John F. Gaski to protest, "If Eastern time's so great, why isn't the Chicago Chamber of Commerce demanding a change to Eastern time?"

Gaski produced all sorts of charts and statistical analyses in an effort to show that the business case for keeping St. Joe facing East was "a fraud and a hoax." The local chamber respectfully disagreed.

He had another reason to care: "It's more convenient for my mother to be on Central time. The nightly news is over at 10:30 instead of 11:30. I don't want her to have to stay up. That's enough for me to go to total war."

Hoosiers could not even decide among themselves who should decide. Some suggested a statewide referendum. One resident suggested taking a cue from the sun.

"I think all of Indiana should be in the Central time zone because that is how the sun determines when noon should be," Dottie Brisley wrote the Transportation Department, adding that the state should all be on one schedule. "Remember 'KISS' (keep it simple stupid)?"

Of course, it was the sun that got Indiana into this mess in the first place.

Until the major railroads decided in 1883 that enough was enough, towns across the country set their clocks according to their own reckoning of the sun's height, and railroads each set their clocks differently. Then the barons got together and established "standard time" and four zones.

Noon in railway time arrived at 12:16 according to the old Indianapolis clocks.

Indianans have battled over ticks and tocks almost ever since. Liz Furnivall, one of more than 6,000 people who weighed in with the Transportation Department, pleaded for a reprieve from comedy and confusion.

"Please get our state all on one time zone," she wrote. "I think everyone should be tired of being a laughed-at state for not knowing what time it is."

Lerman, who runs Steel Warehouse, a successful processing company, believes the business case for Central time is a slam-dunk. He has a pet theory about why his pro-Central forces lost the debate, leaving the sun to set and dinner to be served an hour later in South Bend than in Chicago.

"Let's be honest about it," Lerman confided. "It's for the golfers. They can stay out later. They love that stuff."

Staff writer Kari Lydersen in Chicago contributed to this report.