Where some would keep a photo of their wife or kids, Orville Middleton has a picture of his bridge tucked inside his wallet.
He's the 86-year-old Saskatoon entrepreneur who bought the old Borden Bridge just less than two years ago, saving the historic property from demolition.
Now Middleton -- who seems full of more energy and ideas than many people one-third of his age -- is proposing the construction of a hatchery to re-populate sturgeon in the North Saskatchewan River.
"Just imagine if we could start raising sturgeon and let them go in the river," Middleton said.
If a sturgeon dinner costs $75 in New York City, why not make the prehistoric fish accessible to the Saskatchewan public, Middleton reasoned in an address at the Greater Saskatoon Chamber of Commerce's Growing Green event last Thursday.
Middleton will focus his efforts on the endangered lake sturgeon, which is restricted to catch and release fishing. He envisions several spin-offs, such as selling seed stock to farmers to stock the fish in their dugouts, or tags and licences for fishing. He plans to put the hatchery on the land near his beloved bridge.
"He's a doer. That's what entrepreneurs are," said Bert Sutherland, who helped organize the chamber of commerce event.
Sutherland brought Middleton to speak at the agri-energy symposium for farmers and the pair detailed Middleton's expansive entrepreneurial resume in a quick chat for the assembled audience.
His list of accomplishments includes opening a roller rink, hauling gravel, moving trees, recycling used engine oil, building trailer courts and growing wild rice.
Ideas often came from his travels. He got the idea for Saskatoon's first coin-operated carwash on one such trip.
"The wife was at home running the trailer court, and we were surfing in California," Middleton said. He spotted a coin-operated carwash across the road. "Man, oh man, that was a great deal," he told the audience. So he came home to Saskatoon and built one.
His bridge project is now tied up in red tape, with the RM of Corman Park asking Middleton to get a soil sample test of the land intended for a parking lot. The grand plan for the bridge structure is to turn it into a dance hall, with a wall that opens in good weather to provide a view of the river.
Originally constructed as part of a government-funded make work project from 1935-37, the bow-string arch bridge was at one time the longest in North America. It's located 30 kilometres west of Saskatoon.
Despite a great deal of sentimental value to the community of Borden, the bridge was also the site of at least 20 fatalities, and was closed to traffic in 1985 after a new bridge was built.
Middleton purchased the concrete structure for $33,000.http://www.thestarphoenix.com/Business/Sturgeon+hatchery+proposed/1393904/story.html
He's the 86-year-old Saskatoon entrepreneur who bought the old Borden Bridge just less than two years ago, saving the historic property from demolition.
Now Middleton -- who seems full of more energy and ideas than many people one-third of his age -- is proposing the construction of a hatchery to re-populate sturgeon in the North Saskatchewan River.
"Just imagine if we could start raising sturgeon and let them go in the river," Middleton said.
If a sturgeon dinner costs $75 in New York City, why not make the prehistoric fish accessible to the Saskatchewan public, Middleton reasoned in an address at the Greater Saskatoon Chamber of Commerce's Growing Green event last Thursday.
Middleton will focus his efforts on the endangered lake sturgeon, which is restricted to catch and release fishing. He envisions several spin-offs, such as selling seed stock to farmers to stock the fish in their dugouts, or tags and licences for fishing. He plans to put the hatchery on the land near his beloved bridge.
"He's a doer. That's what entrepreneurs are," said Bert Sutherland, who helped organize the chamber of commerce event.
Sutherland brought Middleton to speak at the agri-energy symposium for farmers and the pair detailed Middleton's expansive entrepreneurial resume in a quick chat for the assembled audience.
His list of accomplishments includes opening a roller rink, hauling gravel, moving trees, recycling used engine oil, building trailer courts and growing wild rice.
Ideas often came from his travels. He got the idea for Saskatoon's first coin-operated carwash on one such trip.
"The wife was at home running the trailer court, and we were surfing in California," Middleton said. He spotted a coin-operated carwash across the road. "Man, oh man, that was a great deal," he told the audience. So he came home to Saskatoon and built one.
His bridge project is now tied up in red tape, with the RM of Corman Park asking Middleton to get a soil sample test of the land intended for a parking lot. The grand plan for the bridge structure is to turn it into a dance hall, with a wall that opens in good weather to provide a view of the river.
Originally constructed as part of a government-funded make work project from 1935-37, the bow-string arch bridge was at one time the longest in North America. It's located 30 kilometres west of Saskatoon.
Despite a great deal of sentimental value to the community of Borden, the bridge was also the site of at least 20 fatalities, and was closed to traffic in 1985 after a new bridge was built.
Middleton purchased the concrete structure for $33,000.http://www.thestarphoenix.com/Business/Sturgeon+hatchery+proposed/1393904/story.html
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