Alida鈥� A new office and shop has sprung up just north of Alida. No, it鈥檚 not another oilpatch shop, but rather an organization that has benefitted from the oilpatch 鈥� the RM of Reciprocity.
And inside the shop, putting trim on the windows, one could find Harry Laurent driving finishing nails with his cordless nailgun.
Laurent is the owner of Arcola Building Supplies Ltd., and mayor of Arcola. On top of that, he鈥檚 the one-man contracting firm, Harry Laurent Construction Ltd.
Laurent has built many buildings in the oilfield over the years, including in recent years a substantial shop near Carnduff. But there鈥檚 not much building happening in the oilpatch today.
鈥淚t is what it is. We鈥檝e done well with the patch,鈥� he said.
That said, interest in new construction these days is pretty much zero.
鈥淲e鈥檙e not even getting a phone call to question. They used to price out before 鈥� speculating. The speculating鈥檚 gone,鈥� he said.
These two buildings for the RM of Reciprocity will allow the municipality to use its old shop in town to become their fire hall, according to Marilyn Larson, RM administrator.
鈥淲e just finished on a project for Coderre Construction in Stoughton, a gravel-hauling outfit,鈥� he said.
Laurent acts as the general contractor, but he subcontracts everything else, from cement work to framing to finishing. 鈥淥n my crew, I hire all my subtrades. I鈥檓 myself and one or two,鈥� he said.
鈥淲e try to hire local people, i.e. if we鈥檙e doing a shop in Carnduff, we鈥檒l hire a Carnduff electrician and plumber.鈥�
Laurent does interior finishing, including cabinets and millwork. He has an extensive shop for that purpose in Arcola.
Having such a lean operation has its benefits during lean times, with minimal overhead.聽 It鈥檚 a model that鈥檚 worked well enough that his son, Wade, has modelled his own business, Wade Laurent Construction Ltd., of Regina, on it.
鈥淗e鈥檚 a one-man operation. He hires trades and supervises,鈥� Laurent said of his son.
He has an affinity for Alida, since there鈥檚 a deep family tie to the community. 鈥淢y great-grandfather came from Alsace-Lorraine in France. He came here from Melita with oxen to Alida, and that鈥檚 where they set up.鈥�
This happened during the First World War, when Alsace-Lorraine was invaded by Germany.
That great-grandfather had mineral rights on land that one day would become worth a lot of money, but personal issues led to him losing it, and the rest is history.
Harry Laurent Construction Ltd. may be history, too. He said, 鈥淲e鈥檝e had a good run,鈥� but added, 鈥淚鈥檓 thinking of shutting it down.
鈥淚 bought a piece of property up north. I鈥檒l build a shack up there,鈥� he concluded. 聽
