NATCHEZ &8212; Anyone who moves to Jefferson Street in Vidalia will likely find Donnie Lisenby Gant from 205 knocking on their door to welcome them.

&8220;I&8217;ve lived in this house for 45 years,&8221; Gant said while she watered her yard. &8220;I&8217;ve seen people come and go and I&8217;ve seen people die. I&8217;ve seen people bring home new babies.

&8220;I&8217;ll soon be 75 years old, and I do my own yard work, I do my own housework. I&8217;ve got an acre, and I use a push mower to mow it.&8221;

The yard she takes care of is decorated with small statues of children riding a bicycle, a scooter and even an alligator.

&8220;I don&8217;t know everybody in town now,&8221; she said. &8220;A lot of people moved in when (Hurricane) Katrina hit, but I used to know almost everybody in town because I worked at the school. &8221;

When her three children were in school, she took a job as a child nutrition manager at Vidalia Lower Elementary. She knew almost the whole town because she knew their children, she said.

Gant has lived in the Vidalia-Natchez area since she was 16 years old. At the time, she was newly married and didn&8217;t have any family in the area.

Since then, she has had forged her own family &8212; three children, seven grandchildren, seven great-grandchildren, 10 step grandchildren and four step-great-grandchildren. All but three or so live in the area.

&8220;I keep up with the birthdays on a calendar,&8221; Gant said. &8220;Everyone gets a party, and they all get $35 on their birthdays.&8221;

When it comes to holidays like Easter and Christmas, the family takes turns hosting. Everyone pitches in to bring food for such a large crowd.

&8220;It&8217;s just too hard to cook for so many,&8221; Gant said.