The Wingham Advance-Times, 1974-04-25, Page 21Cros
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in The Listowel Banner, Th. Wingham dvance4im
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and The*punt Forest Confederate by Wenger Bros.Limited.
There •are seven varieties of
Dinah: one for every day of the
week.
Dinah on a Sunday is a fable
and reality all at once. "You
must be Doug McCann," her
es as s e 'makes the as-
sumption and waves me into her
retreat.
, Inside is the decor of Dinah on a
Sunday. Free, alive, bright,
nothing pretentious.
An ocean of Sunday sunshine
splashes against the windows of
her , cabin -like 'haven nestled in
the: 'thadring countryside near
years from showbiz,
Mount Forest;
Here, light
"People, I think, want mainly to be entertained and lifted up ... Give them happy music
• and good entertainment ...
Dinah relaxes with her ,its,
horses, and most of all, friends.
Wesit,at the.kitchen table -Lifter
introductions ,to her favorite
man; Montreal-based‘ free;llce
photographer . Bob . "Warren,, and
the Egremont Roughriders, a
local riding vJub, not a football
te`he bubbling
� � g blonde.sctingsiress
Is simultaneously cooking ,a roast
of beef for supper, quipping back
and forth with. her friends,
straining her ears to 'listen to
what is being played on the radio
and wondering if the sun will :stay
out long enough for a ride arcnd
her '99 -acre farm.
She jolts out of a Sunday
reverie and comes back to off: in-
tervieu•. What attracts her to this
area?
"Sanity. Ethics and teal
sanity."
A. singer for eight years,.,ahe
has firm roots in the acting<pro-
fession. She started doing behind -
stage w rk at.Stratford when, she
was 13 and has been successful
acting ever since. Her parents,
Robert and Margo Christie, .are
both actors so the profession .Was
by no means new to her at a very
young age.
The actress in her comes
through now as she explains her
sincere need for country liviog..i .
She likes the people in this area
because "their ethics are real to
me."
She says they are honest. and
"won't put up with garbage."The
lifestyle her country neighbors
know so well'makes sense to her.
"Country is survival. If you have
a farm.«and areiiivhWfroytn.iit
cannot have .anyone itrttucling in
a threatening way upon? that
space." .
She compares it with Toronto
where "weput up with all sorts of
suppression because the people
are too close to it every minute:
"They do not picture it as being
a crazy situation, but here':they
don't put up with that."
Her Holstein, retreat "makes
safety for me because show
business tends to be one of those
areas where there are a lot of
kooky people.
"if you keep meeting these
people day after day," she says,
"unless you hold your own view
points very tightly around you,
you might wind by in some hospi-
tal, never wanting to work on
stage again."
Her tone becomes quickly sad
dened and she adds. "That would
be a very discouraging thing to
have happen."
THE ENTOURAGE
Many show business persona
lities have an "entourage" pf de-
voted followers- Some cannot un-
derstand why a performer would
want the same "circle" travel
ling with them constantly, but
Dinah explains a very probable
reason for the group of followers.
"More times, than' not, that en-
tourage is.carried for sanity from
place to place because the people
have their viewpoints, their
circles. They , stay. straight or
whatever it is that keeps them to-
gether."
Having experienced the need
for. these "circles", Dinah can
"really appreciate having friends
I are about.
"Thiscommunity has provided,
me .with;;those friends. It's really
like corning home. I've only been
here two years, but I would care
more about what happens to
people up here than anywhere
else •I know of."
Because of her affection for the
'area, Dinah has consented to ap-
pear at many fund-raising events
in the Mount Forest and Holstein
area. "It's nice to be asked," she
says, "because it sort of hints
that you've .been accepted a
little."
4 . st.�she -haaci soi. a fe, rs of
b s . a ivould be acttented in -a
rural community. "I thought they
Might be looking at me and
thinking, 'Is she freaky and weird
like we hear actresses and
singers are supposed to be?' But
they really didn't do that at all.
They accepted me as a neighbor
first and an entertainer second."
Dinah didn't always want to go
into show business. -As a young
girl she had visions of becoming
"a vet or a teacher or something
really useful."
But. needless to say, she did go
into show business and her au-
diences are more than thankful
for that. Aside from singing and
Ladies an:d gentlemen. • . Miss Dinah Christie
"This is something 1 wrote when I came back from Winnipeg one time. It's called 'Wheatfield Sou
acting. she also writes music,
mostly, for other performers and
shows, some for her own appear-
ances.
She recorded one of her own
songs, Justin Pierre, in honor of
Prime Minister Trudeau's new-
born son at the time. On the flip
sides she recorded "i Can Hear
Canada Singidg".
Up until now she has not re-
corded an album, although she
wants to. "But I want to write
most of my own material for it.'"
Her hard and fast philosophy to
performing. whether it he live or
recorded, is to choose the
material that "really, REALLY
excites Inc."
She has written many songs -
"that I like.. but not really enough
good ones to record an album I
would he . thoroughly satisfied
with."
An album may cone from:
Dinah, though. within the next
wear;.
Among her current writing
pr•ojec'ts is a film on which she
and Dean Reagan and Gordon
Pinsc'nl are 'Collaborating. Dinah.'
and.. lagan are writing - the
The swing in the orchard
Once held a child .. .
Moves gently under the trees.
The evening sun blows
Red on the ground.
Soft summer sounds
Float lazily down.
There's Wheatfield Soul
On the breeze .. .
a
music for the film with Pinsent
having written the. book from
which the film willbe taken.
She has also recently finished
four weeks of work on three ,tele- .
vision specials to be shown on the:
CBC in June. They aye -thr
half-hour specials to be shoran on
three consecutive weekends: She
into trouble and just carrying
appears with Dean Reagan
"dancing, singing and getting:
on.,•
On a national scale, Dinah is
probably best known forher ap-
• Please turn to Page 2
/ 11
Down through the cornfields
She comes at a run,.
Sun burning gold
In her hair.
She just gave her heart
To her father's hired man.
See how he stands with
Her° love in his hands.
Wheatfield Soul
In the air . , .
She was born on the prairies,
Grew with the land,
Knew., who she was from the start.
It just seems to happen
Wherever 1 go. People are so
LOVING, you know.
Wheatfield Sosll
In her heart . . .
Reprinted with permission
from Dinah Christie (copyrighted).
He watched her a while
And slowly turned round,
Walked back to the house
For his pay.
I t just seems to happen
Wherever I go.
Young girls, you know.
Interesting, though.
Wheatfield Soul
In the hay . .