Dear Editor:

At this time of year, we all read the usual complaints about changing to Daylight Savings Time. I am going to make what may seem an unusual suggestion: what if we established a Peninsula Vacation Time that started on the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend and ended on Labor Day and set local clocks forward another hour. 

The sun rises before 5 a.m. throughout June and before 6 a.m. all summer. The latest sunset is 8:25 p.m. and by Labor Day it sets before 7:30. How much more business could stores, tour boats, restaurants, etc. do during the summer if instead the sunset came at, for example, 9:24 p.m. on Saturday, July 3 with fireworks at 10 p.m.? Get that extra cruise around the harbor, more time on the kayak or paddle board, a little more shopping before or after dinner, etc.

With the cooperation of local towns and businesses, we encourage everyone to set their clocks an additional hour ahead when on the peninsula. Perhaps we could raise some money to put some clocks around town and on Route 27 coming into town. Hotels and restaurants remind their patrons to set their watches and phones ahead. Worst case people are an hour early getting to their flights home or for a Zoom meeting. I could see this as a great marketing campaign where our summer day is an hour longer than anywhere else! After the brutal summer of 2020 I think a little extra time to get some more revenue would be a winner for everyone.

Just an idea.

Bill Hunt

Orono, Minnesota

and Southport