Before reliable time pieces were widely available, people relied on public signals like church bells, factory whistles or time balls to check that they were keeping the correct local time. Officials in St. John’s, Halifax, Quebec City and Ottawa fired a gun to mark noon. (Canadian Illustrated News) "Tune in tonight at 6 p.m., 6:30 in Newfoundland." It's a familiar refrain to Canadians, a concession to the peculiar 30-minute time zone at the edge of the continent. The province should by all rights be on Atlantic Time, since most of it falls between the 55th and 65th meridians west, and…