MONROE - Daylight saving time begins early Sunday, and while everyone resets their clocks and loses an hour of sleep, many may ask "what's the point?"
Daylight saving time was introduced in several countries in the early 20th Century - Germany in 1916, the U.S. in 1918 - as a means of saving fuel during wartime. Although the U.S. abandoned daylight savings time after World War I, it was established as a nationwide standard in 1966 to make cross-country transportation more logical.
Although it is commonly related that daylight saving time helps farmers by giving them more hours of daylight in which to work, the change in time can be seen as a negative for dairy farmers.
Dairy farmer Greg Stewart is one who said he would end daylight saving time if he could: "It's a big hassle for us."
Stewart said his cows' milking schedule changes in the weeks preceding and following the beginning of daylight saving time. Every three days, he said, he shifts the milking schedule ahead by 15 minutes until the cows are milked one hour earlier.
"Cows are creatures of habit," Stewart said. "It doesn't help to get them off their rhythm."
However, Monroe residents not involved in agriculture had much more positive attitudes toward the time change.
"I like it," said Monroe resident Anita Duray. "It gives me more time in the garden," she said, adding that the longer days also let her spend more time with her dog, Duke.
Frank Pivonka, owner of Monroe restaurant Frank's Franks, said the time change actually benefits his business.
"We'll actually start extending our hours so we stay open later," Pivonka said.
"There are going to be more people walking around on the Square later.
"It makes my day longer, but I'm always trying to squeeze as much time out of the day as I can," Pivonka said.
Jaime Vavricka, owner of Monroe business, Just Your Style, said the time shift would not affect her much at all, but she would switch to longer hours in April.
"Personally, I like that extra hour of sleep, but functionally, that extra hour helps a lot," Vavricka said. "There's a lot you can do with that hour."
Daylight saving time was introduced in several countries in the early 20th Century - Germany in 1916, the U.S. in 1918 - as a means of saving fuel during wartime. Although the U.S. abandoned daylight savings time after World War I, it was established as a nationwide standard in 1966 to make cross-country transportation more logical.
Although it is commonly related that daylight saving time helps farmers by giving them more hours of daylight in which to work, the change in time can be seen as a negative for dairy farmers.
Dairy farmer Greg Stewart is one who said he would end daylight saving time if he could: "It's a big hassle for us."
Stewart said his cows' milking schedule changes in the weeks preceding and following the beginning of daylight saving time. Every three days, he said, he shifts the milking schedule ahead by 15 minutes until the cows are milked one hour earlier.
"Cows are creatures of habit," Stewart said. "It doesn't help to get them off their rhythm."
However, Monroe residents not involved in agriculture had much more positive attitudes toward the time change.
"I like it," said Monroe resident Anita Duray. "It gives me more time in the garden," she said, adding that the longer days also let her spend more time with her dog, Duke.
Frank Pivonka, owner of Monroe restaurant Frank's Franks, said the time change actually benefits his business.
"We'll actually start extending our hours so we stay open later," Pivonka said.
"There are going to be more people walking around on the Square later.
"It makes my day longer, but I'm always trying to squeeze as much time out of the day as I can," Pivonka said.
Jaime Vavricka, owner of Monroe business, Just Your Style, said the time shift would not affect her much at all, but she would switch to longer hours in April.
"Personally, I like that extra hour of sleep, but functionally, that extra hour helps a lot," Vavricka said. "There's a lot you can do with that hour."