Despite reassurances from Red Cross officials, more than a few evacuees didn’t want to take any chances. Faith Bolton arrived late Sunday night intent on securing a place in line for Monday’s distribution of Red Cross checks at the Natchez Convention Center.

&uot;In New Orleans people are always out the day before at the unemployment line and other things,&uot; Bolton said. &uot;I wanted to go ahead and get my place.&uot;

Two evacuees, Brenda Evans and Shirley Kinghuskey, started an impromptu number system to maintain order in the swiftly building line Sunday night.

By midnight, the ladies had handed out 68 slips of paper with numbers on them and more people were coming.

Evans’ husband Keith was particularly proud of his place at the head of the line.

&uot;We got here at 7:30 p.m. just to make sure,&uot; Evans said.

Bolton said more than 130 people were in line by 2:30 a.m.

At 8 a.m., Natchez Police Chief Mike Mullins stood across the street from the convention center with other officers there to keep order. A SWAT team from Tennessee, outfitted in bullet-proof vests and carrying rifles, paced the perimeter along with Natchez police officers, Mississippi Highway Patrol officers and National Guard troops from Indiana.

But the crowd remained patient and for the most part orderly throughout the morning.

&uot;In 23 years I’ve never seen a crowd like this in Natchez,&uot; Mullins said. &uot;They started lining up at 9 p.m. (Sunday). But we put the barricades up, and it channeled them real well.&uot;

At 8:15 a.m., Lois Lacey and her husband Eddie hit the end of the line &045; which by then had snaked down Canal Street and two blocks up State. The beginning of check distribution was still 45 minutes away.

&uot;I didn’t expect to see this many people,&uot; said Lacey, an east New Orleans resident who has been staying with relatives and friends in Woodville, where they lost power for nine days.

Despite the long line, Lacey figured she would stick it out. She didn’t take much with her when she left her house because she expected to go back after a couple of days.

&uot;I brought what I’ve got on and a pair of pants,&uot; she said. &uot;That’s why I’m in this line.&uot;

Lacey knows her neighborhood was under water, and she is still worried about a 90-year-old neighbor who did not evacuate.

&uot;She said the Lord could get her out,&uot; Lacey said. &uot;She was ready to go home and be with her husband.&uot;

Twenty minutes later, the line stretched another block. Lejejuande Jordan sat on the brick edging around the courthouse lawn with her husband, rocking their 3-month-old twins in a baby carriage.

&uot;We should have gotten here at 5 a.m.&uot; Jordan said.

The Jordans have not been back to their West Bank home. While they are staying with friends in Centreville, their two older children have started school. The couple thinks they might just start over in the Miss-Lou, rather than return to New Orleans.

All down the long line of people, those waiting brought a variety of items to help pass the time: books, breakfast in fast food bags, even a portable DVD player.

At nearly 9 a.m., Jonathan Wood at Old South Trading Post was trying to get popcorn popping at a stand set up beside his store across the street from the convention center. The impromptu concession stand &045; open since 5 a.m. &045; was doing a brisk business in snacks and drinks.

&uot;The people have been so polite and so nice and so patient,&uot; Wood said. &uot;It’s a fun thing to do something for someone like this.&uot;

Just after 9 a.m., AmSouth Bank City President Adrian Sandel stood on the sidewalk on Canal Street looking at the crowd.

Although all of the banks downtown agreed to cash Red Cross checks, Sandel’s is closest to the convention center.

&uot;Towards the end of last week we started with a number like 3,000 to 5,000,&uot; Sandel said of the original estimate of the number that would be served. &uot;Now we’re looking at 5,000 to 10,000.&uot;

By 9:10 a.m., Red Cross volunteers were maneuvering a forklift full of water bottles through the crowd for distribution.

At almost the same moment, Paul Taylor, an evacuee from New Orleans, was the first person to get a check, for just more than $1,500.

&uot;It’s a blessing for something to finally start happening for us,&uot; Taylor said. &uot;(The process) was pretty smooth.&uot;

A few minutes later, more than 12 hours after arriving and taking her place in line, Bolton got her check.

Was the wait worth it?

&uot;Yes. I’m so happy it went quickly,&uot; Bolton said. &uot;That was a long night. There were so many people out there.&uot;

At 10:45 a.m., a long line was beginning to form in the lobby at AmSouth Bank, as checks were cashed quickly by bank tellers who had been expecting the rush. Two

National Guard soldiers stood watching the process in the lobby.

By lunchtime, workers at Molasses Flats antiques store, at the corner of Main and Canal streets, began passing out free sandwiches and drinks.

Sandi Dowdy said she and others, including store owner Wesley Cooper, simply wanted to help.

&uot; This is not a time to think about business,&uot; she said. &uot;This is a time to think about family and God.&uot;

Molasses Flats turned its backroom into a mini-kitchen, with supplies donated by the Bread Basket, Natchez Market and Coca-Cola.

Later that afternoon, the Red Cross directed the police and Guard members to stop the line at the corner of Canal and State streets so that they could serve everyone who was standing in line that day.

&uot;We wanted to make sure every person in line was served,&uot; Lori Rosen of Red Cross said.

By 3 p.m., the sidewalk outside the convention center was littered with the detritus of a long line of people &045; empty water bottles, snack bags, paper towels &045; although city workers were on the job later to clean everything up.

Inside the convention center, Red Cross workers rested for just a few minutes before they began to get organized for the next day.

Rosen said she thinks the bulk of evacuees was served Monday, but Red Cross volunteers will be back on the job signing checks at 9 a.m. today.

Rosen was not surprised that people stood in line overnight for checks.

&uot;If you’ll wait that long for Rolling Stones tickets, you’ll wait that long for (checks),&uot; she said.

&uot;The have literally been living without.&uot;