Smoky Bars

Shania Twain was born Eilleen Regina Edwards in Windsor, Ontario on August 28, 1965, the first daughter of Sharon and Clarence Edwards. The marriage was a disaster and after the family moved back to Timmins Clarence left home for good. Soon after Sharon met Jerry Twain , a full blooded Ojibway Native. They were married in 1970 and Jerry formally adopted Sharon's three daughters. His family embraced them and they used to spend summers and weekends at the Mattagami Reservation.

   
Shania at six (Photograph courtesy of Don Fraser)

There was other smoke that haunted Eilleen's childhood memories, the fug of stale tobacco smoke that hung over the pools of spilt beer in late night bars. Times when a terrified little girl, dressed in a buckskin dress, handsewn by Grandma Selina, and cowboy boots, hiding behind a guitar almost as big as she, was woken in the middle of the night and thrust half asleep onto a stage to entertain a bunch of half cut miners and loggers. She gave them Hank Williams' Kaw-liga just the way Charley Pride did, belted out Tanya Tucker's raunchy Delta Dawn , wrung the beer tears out with Dolly Parton's Coat of Many Colours, and left them with Kris Kristofferson's Me and Bobby McGee.

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