Behind Donnie and Patsy White’s 120 Lee Ave. house stands a tall metal structure, a visual symbol of family bonds.

Donnie White and their son-in-law John Smith constructed the building, which now serves as Patsy White’s arts and crafts studio, together.

“Once we started it, it took about a month,” Donnie White said. “We did all that ourselves. We built it from scratch, from the ground up.”

Donnie White built a metal shed several years ago to serve as a shop. But soon, it became apparent his wife needed a place to be creative, too.

So Smith and his father-in-law worked together to create the studio next to the shop.

Smith and his wife of 15 years, Donna, live three houses down from the Whites, at 144 Lee Ave.

It’s nice being close to family, Smith said.

“We like watching our nieces and nephews play ball,” Smith said. “We all get together every holiday.”

For Memorial Day, they planned to just kick back and relax, he said.

“We don’t have any plans, really,” Smith said. “We’ll just get together. It’s a chance to spend time together. We don’t plan on anything else.”

Smith, who has lived all over the country and moved to Vidalia from California, said he notices family sticks close together in the Miss-Lou.

“Family’s pretty good down here,” he said. “We stay pretty tight and try to do as much as we can together.”

Patsy White said she likes having her tech-savvy son-in-law three doors down.

“It’s great having family and my daughter and son-in-law close by,” she said. “It’s great if I have computer problems. I just holler, and he comes to fix it.”

The building the family worked on together is a reminder of what combined forces can do, she said. And it’s a nice respite from the world, too.

“I just dabble in everything,” she said. “I do oil painting and beadwork. Recently, I’ve started making jewelry. If I get tired of one thing, I start on something else.”