Memorable Manitobans: James Reid Dickie (1949-2016)

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Reid Dickie
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Journalist, writer, historian.

Born at Brandon on 4 August 1949, second child of Helen Margaret Murchie and John Bruce Dickie (1917-2001), his childhood was spent at Margaret (1949-1952, where his father was an elevator agent), Hayfield (1952-1957), and Shoal Lake (1957-?), attending Hebron School and Shoal Lake School. After graduation he studied Radio and Television Arts at Ryerson Polytechnical Institute in Toronto. During the 1970s he worked at radio stations CFAR (Flin Flon), CKX (Brandon), and Winnipeg stations CFRW-FM, CHIQ-FM and CJUM-FM.

In the late 1970s and early 1980s he and his wife Linda Tooley created multi-genre, post-modern art using photography, video, performance and installations, many shown at the Plug-In Gallery in Winnipeg. During the 1980s, they owned and operated “IF you have to get dressed in the morning,” a vintage clothing store on Corydon Avenue. He then worked as a freelance writer for newspapers and magazines, writing on architecture, heritage issues, and history.

He created a blog devoted to Shoal Lake’s history and, after his retirement in 2010, he started the blog www.readreidread.com and a YouTube channel as outlets for his writing and videos. His book Manitoba Heritage Success Stories was published in 2006, and his Carberry Heritage Walking Tour was done in 2010. Play the Jukebox, his only novel, was self-published shortly before his death.

He died at Winnipeg on 21 February 2016.

His articles for the Manitoba Historical Society:

MHS Features: Homes for the Holidays, 2007

MHS Features: School Holidays, 2008

Memorable Manitobans: Matthew W. Thompson (c1830-?)

Memorable Manitobans: Robert Scott (1858-1922)

Memorable Manitobans: James Dickson McLean (1875-1972)

Sources:

Obituary [Helen Margaret Dickie], Shoal Lake Star, 18 May 1993, page 11.

Obituary [Bruce Dickie], Brandon Sun, 1 February 2001, page 15.

Obituary, Winnipeg Free Press, 27 February 2016.

Obituary, ReadReidRead.

We thank Christian Cassidy for providing additional information used here.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 6 December 2021

Memorable Manitobans

Memorable Manitobans

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