NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — It's the time of year, some of us love to hate. Overnight Saturday into Sunday, clocks will fall back an hour signaling darker evenings lie in the months ahead.
"I would prefer to see it stay daylight savings time year-round," said June Kyle, as she walked through Bicentennial Mall State Park.
"I’m not happy about losing an hour," said John Duffy.
"But you just see people are grumpier. People are not as happy," said Wendy French Barrett, a Middle Tennessee resident. "Let’s just keep it consistent."
So what started this odd tradition in the first place?
"Daylight saving time is really to give more daylight hours when they are awake and outside," said David Ewing, a longtime Middle Tennessee historian.
Ewing says it was a practice that began overseas in 1918 during World War I as a way to save electricity. It started to catch on in the U.S. but it was decided by each individual city.
"Memphis had initially passed it. It was so unpopular, they took it away. Similar to Nashville and then Knoxville," said Ewing.
It didn't become a nationwide, long term practice until decades later, and even still it wasn't entirely popular.
Grand Ole Opry star Grandpa Jones even lampooned it in a song.
"I get up late, have to wait, can’t keep it straight, who did he hate? The man that first thought up Daylight Savin’ Time," sang Jones in his song "Daylight Savin' Time."
"He didn’t like daylight savings time, he thought it was foolish and unnecessary," said Ewing.
Now there's a new push to make Daylight Saving Time permanent. In 2019, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee signed legislation that would make Tennessee one of many states that would ditch clock changes and adopt permanent daylight saving. But that would require congressional approval. The Senate passed it earlier this year, but now it's up to the U.S. House of Representatives, and of course, the President's signature.
But not everybody may be ready for this about-face. Critics say, if you really enjoy your early morning sunrise or if you’re worried about your kids being out at the bus stop in the dark, this change may not be for the best.
It could also cause further clock confusion.
"The whole country would either have to do it or not do it, otherwise I think you run into a bigger mess," said Duffy.
So will there be a time when the clock changes end? There's no telling.
Are people interested in some sort of change? No question.
"I think we’re ready to have this conversation," said French Barrett.
So far, there's no indication that the U.S. House of Representatives plans to take up the measure anytime soon.
