News – Sheridan Media
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Love it or hate it, Daylight Savings Time, (Spring Ahead, Fall Behind) went into effect on March 8, early in the morning. Even though many people don’t enjoy the time change, and even some doctors feel it is not good for humans, messing with their circadian rhythms, it seems as if it is here to stay.
It has been around for many years, off and on. It was first implemented in the US in 1918, as a wartime measure during World War I with the rational of being there would be more daylight hours to conserve energy resources.
It was then repealed, and standard time prevailed for several years.
Here are some interesting tidbits about Daylight Saving time.
Northern Wyoming Herald Cody, Wyoming, Wednesday March 24, 1920. – The city of Laramie met at their regular meeting last week and passed an ordinance authorizing the use of daylight- saving time as has been recognized throughout the US during the war period. The plan is meeting with the hearty support of the citizens of the university town and by the passing of this new local legislation all business of the town will be operated on the new time.
Under the new ordinance the standard time will be advanced one hour at 2 o’clock a.m. on the first May each year and retracted one hour on the first day of October.
Year-round daylight time, or “War Time”, was implemented again during World War II. In January of 1941, President Roosevelt signed the daylight-saving bill and it became effective at 2 a.m. on Feb. 9 for all interstate commerce and federal government activities. The measure was to become inoperable six months after the war ended.
This from the Guernsey Gazette, Friday. May, 21, 1920 – There will be no daylight-saving time in Cheyenne this year. The businessmen of the town, a majority of whom recently agreed to observe daylight saving time in order that Cheyenne’s clocks might be synchronized with those of Denver, Laramie, Casper and other neighboring towns, have abandoned the plan after consulting government and railroad difficulties and after receiving vigorous protests from housewives.
The next story goes into how the time zones were implemented.
Cheyenne State Leader, May 7, 1920- Daylight Saving Ordinance Would Violate Statute – Legal Time For Wyoming Is Fixed By State Law and Could Not Be Changed by Municipal Act. If daylight saving comes in Cheyenne, it will probably not be legal. Such is the opinion of several attorneys and others who have investigated the matter. The time for the state of Wyoming is a matter of law. It is set forth in the Revised Statutes of 1899, in section 2098.
This section says that the standard time for the state shall be that of the 105th principal meridian. This meridian passes through Wyoming, and very close to Cheyenne. Fort Russell is just west of the meridian, Cheyenne is just east, and Park addition is on the meridian on which the time for the whole stale is based.
When standard time was first worked out, it was decided to call every fifteen degrees of longitude one hour of time. Cheyenne is 105 degrees west of Greenwich, England, where is located the zero meridian, which is the one on which standard time is based.
Thus Cheyenne time is just seven hours later than Greenwich time. This holds true of both standard and saving time. Attorneys said yesterday that when the United States enacted the daylight saving law, this law superseded the state law.
They also say that the state law is superior to a city ordinance, and that the proposed “daylight saving” ordinance, should it be enacted, would be unlawful. Other criticism of the proposed change in local time is voiced. Neither the railroads, the federal-offices nor the state house would observe the new system of time.
Railroad men are almost solidly in opposition to the change of time because it would work a hardship on them in the matter of making purchases at downtown stores… If the railroads continued to operate on standard time, and the businessmen observed “daylight saving” time, railroad men who got off the job at 5 o’clock would have no chance to do any shopping, inasmuch as it would be 6 o’clock by city time, and the stores would be closed. Conversely, the railroad workers, trainmen and others would go to work an hour later in the day than the other people.
No end of confusion is foreseen if the ordinance should be passed. The petition for daylight saving, which was to have been taken to the city commissioners, has not yet made its appearance, says a report at the city hall.
The Lusk Standard, December 23, 1921
Wyoming State Tribune, Cheyenne State Leader, May 17, 1924 – Adjusting of Time – The average citizen’s struggles in adjusting himself to daylight saving time fade into insignificance beside the time adjustments which the Interstate Commerce Commission has to make each spring and fall. The commission has to approve the adaptation of daylight-saving time to railroad operation. When one state adopts daylight saving and the adjoining one fails to do so curious timetable consequences are produced. The commission has spent much effort in an attempt to standardize the time of railroads and has the plan fairly well worked out. Strange exceptions to prevailing time result. In order to keep the same time for one railroad, the time zones sometimes are invaded, one road operating on eastern time, for instance, while a nearby parallel line Is employing central time. Daylight saving, railroad safety, transportation complaints are a few of the subjects which occupy the attention of the Interstate Commerce Commission. The work of the commission is graphically described by Frederic J. Haskin in the new and enlarged edition of “The American Government.”
It seems like some other adjustments had to be made as well. This from the Laramie Boomerang, October 11, 1920– Daylight Savings Time is Cause of Divorce- Daylight Savings Time figured as a provocation for marital trouble in court today. Frank Shaw of Chicago swore his wife, Bettie, refused to recognized the new time and get up. He had to go with breakfast. Then he left home and lived where he could get something to eat in the morning. He asked for a divorce.
Sometimes, the newspapers even had a little fun with Daylight Time.
Douglas Enterprise Tuesday, October 21, 1919 – Remember Girls, There’s an Extra Hour Saturday – Girl’s, next Saturday will undoubtedly be the last twenty-five hour day you will ever see. You see it’s this way — At two o’clock Sunday morning, October 26, the daylight-saving law becomes ineffective, having recently been repealed by Congress. This necessitates setting your clock back one hour before retiring on Saturday night. Now then—if you can just figure a little you can readily see how easy it will be to entertain your gentleman friends an extra hour. Let the”old folks”set the clock back before they “hit the hay”—you can still retire early by staying up late. Residents of cities generally have had no fault to find with the daylight saving law, but the farmers and ranch-men were almost unanimously in favor of its repeal. The law has been in effect for two years but from now on, standard time will prevail in the United States.
The Cody Enterprise and the Park County Herald, September 30, 1925
Sheridan Journal September 3, 1925 – In the cities they have daylight saving time and the country they save daylight by getting up with the chickens.
Year-round daylight time, or “War Time”, was implemented again during World War II. In January of 1941, President Roosevelt signed the daylight-saving bill and it became effective at 2 a.m. on Feb. 9 for all interstate commerce and federal government activities. The measure was to become inoperable 6 months after the war ended.
In 1974 President Nixon signed a law to make daylight time, year around, but parents complained about children going to school in the dark and many working people didn’t enjoy starting their work day in pitch darkness during the winter months. Later, President Ford repealed year around daylight time.
Even though the US has been on the spring ahead, fall behind idea of daylight time for many years, some doctors say that it has been shown to disrupt our circadian rhythms, which can negatively affect human health. While making the transition between the fall and wintertime change, it has been shown that there are more heart attacks and traffic accidents as well.
But, for better or worse, it seems as if Daylight Time is here to stay again, at least for awhile.
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Last modified: March 16, 2026