October 31, 2004
STATE LINE CITY, Ind. -- In this tiny town on the Illinois border, telling time depends on whom you ask and what side of the road you’re on.
State Line Road splits this community of fewer than 150. Those who live on the west side of the street call the Land of Lincoln home. Those on the east side call themselves Hoosiers. But just don’t call any of them late -- or early -- for anything.
Residents of this Early this morning, clocks and other There are a few exceptions. A handful of counties near Chicago and Evansville are in the Central time zone and observe A few counties near Louisville, Ky., and Cincinnati in the Eastern time zone also change their clocks to keep in tune with Kentucky and Ohio. Then there’s the rest of the state -- places like State Line City where the time zone is Eastern, but the time never changes. So every year from late October until early April, they live life an hour ahead of their Illinois neighbors. «A lot of people around here usually keep two clocks -- a work clock for Illinois and a home clock for the actual time here,» said Marge McLain, who has lived in State Line since 1967. «My husband used to work in Illinois, and we’d keep all our clocks on Indiana time except for his alarm clock -- it was on Illinois time.» The double time could come to an end if either of Indiana’s main candidates for governor gets his way. Republican Mitch Daniels supports moving Indiana onto Central time and observing The General Assembly failed to vote on the proposed change by the end of its session in March. State Line resident Josie Heath hopes lawmakers get it done the next time around. «I’d like to see them change the time -- it’d be less confusion for everyone,» said Heath, 52. «The whole thing really messes everyone up.» There’s not much else to debate in State Line. In this quaint, quiet town, the rural silence is broken only occasionally by the rustling of golden leaves, the barking of a dog in the distance and the roaring of a train through town. That rumble shakes the walls in the post office where McLain, the town’s postmaster, works alone behind the counter of the small, She’s responsible for looking after the 90 or so post office boxes in State Line -- some of which belong to residents who live on the «other side» in Illinois. Postmaster Marge walks two blocks to work every day from her home along State Line Road. «Our front lawn begins Indiana.» But for shopping, doctor’s appointments, church and virtually everything else, she drives to nearby Danville, Ill. All of which requires her to stay on Illinois time. So doesn’t she feel more a part of Illinois than Indiana? «Oh, no, no, no. I know I live in Indiana,» McLain says. «No matter what time, if you’re a Hoosier, you want to be a Hoosier. There’s no mistaking that.» But there’s plenty of mistaken time. «It’s hard. I can’t keep up with what they’re doing over in Indiana and what we’re doing here,» said Dolores Sanders, whose front lawn begins in Illinois. «You can’t cross that line without having to think first.» Even though it’s miles away, Sanders says she lives in Bismarck, Ill. -- she gets her mail from there instead of from across the street in Indiana from McLain’s post office. Her «In State Line, Illiana -- on the Illinois side, of course,» he replies. But the map shows State Line in Indiana and an area known as Illiana across the street in Illinois. «I know that,» he said with a chuckle. «But that’s just what I call it.» Sanders calls the «whole time thing» stupid. «I’d rather Illinois quit messing with their time and just go with Indiana’s flow,» she said. «I’m sick of changing my clock -- it’s dumb.» Unfortunately for her, McLain, the postmaster, doesn’t favor any change, either. The time turmoil is part of what makes State Line City unique. «We’ve been doing this for so long that I’m used to it the way it is, and I don’t have a problem with it,» she said as another train buzzed by from Indiana into Illinois. «Most people really don’t have any problem with it. Some people get a little mixed up around this time, but it’s part of life.» That’s a part of life Brian Miller could do without. He owns Illiana Marine Boat Dealers, which is in State Line City, not Illiana -- but that’s another story. This time of year, customers often show up at his store just before 5 p.m., and they get angry because he’s closed. «They call and complain, and I ask them which 5 o’clock they’re talking about,» he said with a laugh. «They say, ’Illinois,’ and I say, ’Well, that’s 6 here -- we’re closed.» Miller says it’s funny that he leaves work at 5 p.m. and gets home at 4:15 p.m. in Illinois. «It’s ridiculous, and I’ve always said I’d wish we’d either change our time or have Illinois stop changing their clocks,» he said. «Changing Indiana time would suit me just fine.» Time and a road aren’t the only dividers for residents who live in and near State Line City. The police, fire, tax and voting districts all are different. ZIP codes and area codes also are different. A phone call to the other side of the street -- and now an hour away -- is long distance. That street is lined on one side by cars with the green license plates of Indiana and on the other side by ones with the red, white and blue plates of Illinois. That’s what makes State Line special, McLain said. «There’s always been a lot of differences,» she said. «But everything here always just kind of stays the same.» Including the time.