Extreme eastern Maine eagerly awaits early arrival of daylight saving time
By Associated Press
Friday, March 9, 2007 - Updated: 07:15 AM EST
LUBEC,
Maine - As the easternmost point in the United States, Lubec gets some
of the earliest sunrises in America. But it also gets some of the most
depressingly early sunsets, with the sun slipping below the horizon
before 4 p.m. for weeks on end in early winter.
Which is why, after
months of leaving work and eating dinner in dreary darkness, the people
of Lubec are eagerly awaiting the earlier-than-usual arrival of
daylight saving time this year.
By
order of Congress, daylight saving time will start on March 11, three
weeks early. Across the country, the sun will set an hour later. In
Lubec, that will be 6:29 p.m.
It
can’t happen soon enough for Jed Coggins, who said he will use the
extra sunlight to dig clams, take walks or simply take in the sun.
”It
signals the start of spring in my mind, and I need it,” Coggins, 78,
said at McFadden’s Variety store and deli.
Lubec,
situated a grim 180 miles northeast of Portland, has seen brighter
days, back when fish were plentiful and fish plants were bustling.
Nowadays, its main drag is mostly empty storefronts. Just a few fishing
boats are moored in the harbor. The nearest traffic light and movie
theater are 50 miles away.
Because
Lubec is so far north and east, from mid-November to early January the
sun goes down on the town’s famous candy-striped lighthouse before many
of its 1,600 inhabitants get out of work or get home from school. The
earliest sunset is the second week of December, at 3:47 p.m. The
shortest day of the year, Dec. 21, has just 8 hours and 48 minutes of
daylight.
Those
early sunsets can make Maine residents crazy, Betsy Anderson joked at
Broomstick Creations gift shop. ”If you work all day, the worst part is
getting off work and it’s still dark,” she said. ”I’m one of those
people who need more daylight.”
To
the east, just across the bridge over Lubec Narrows on Campobello
Island, New Brunswick, Canadians are in the Atlantic time zone. Over
there, just a few hundred yards away, the sun sets an hour later than
in Lubec, which is in the Eastern time zone.
Erik
Lookabaugh, owner of Lubec Hardware, said that daylight saving should
be year-round or Maine should join the Atlantic time zone, something
the Legislature considered doing two years ago.
”It’s a psychological boost,” Lookabaugh said. ”The early sunsets are extreme up here.”
In
2005, Congress decided to expand daylight saving time in the hope that
more daylight in the evening will reduce energy consumption.
Because
Lubec is situated so far east within the Eastern time zone, the town is
often the first place in America to see the rays of the rising sun. The
earliest sunrise of the year is in mid-June, at 4:41 a.m. The longest
day tops 15½ hours of daylight.
During
the turn of the millennium, many people traveled to Lubec to be the
first in America to welcome the year 2000. In Washington County, known
across Maine as ”sunrise county,” residents are clearly proud of their
early sunrises. Here, you’ll find Sunrise Realty, Sunrise Apartments,
Sunrise Canoe and Kayak, Sunrise County Veterinary Clinic and Sunrise
Day Care.
In
milder climes, people will no doubt use the extra hour of daylight to
get in a little more golf. For Lubec residents, there is still snow at
the nearby Herring Cove Golf course.
Karlene
Hood, office manager at a former sardine cannery that now houses small
businesses that process sea salt and sea cucumbers, intends to use the
extra daylight to take rides with her husband on their motorcycle.
”We’re all happy about it. The sooner it stays light later, the better,” she said.
©
Copyright 2007 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may
not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
| |
Jed
Coggins, 78, Lubec, Maine, Wednesday enjoys the sunlight and getting
out in the winter. Coggins, who said he will use the extra sunlight
from an early daylight savings time change to dig clams, take walks or
simply take in the sun. (AP) |
|
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