“I love the history of those old houses,” Vidalia native loves pre-war house construction – Mississippi’s Best Community Newspaper

NATCHEZ – Steven Guillory, a native of Vidalia and a resident of Natchez, leaned against his truck outside a house on Washington Street in Natchez, near where The Dart landed on Wednesday

He was taking a break from construction work and began to reflect on his life course.

“I left and I left for Florida and Massachusetts,” Guillory said. “It’s like a magnet always brings me back here. Most of the time, my family, friends and my heritage bring me back.

As a paramedic, Guillory worked shifts where he was on for 24 hours and off for 48 hours. A department he worked for required 48 hours and 72 hours of rest, he said.

He said he left the ambulance service after exhausting himself and then went to work abroad as a doctor for four years.

“In most cases it wasn’t too bad,” he said. “I’ve seen a lot of bad things though. It seemed like every time we got a bad call it was pediatric or elderly abuse (case). I got to where I didn’t sleep at night and passed out.

While off duty as a paramedic, Guillory began working in construction – a job he said wasn’t as emotionally taxing.

At first, Guillory worked with Danny Smith before his death in August 2020. Now Guillory owns his own business.

“I like doing some finishing work and working on pre-war houses,” Guillory said. “(Danny Smith) took me into the old houses. You have to know what you are doing to work on these old houses because they are not perfect and level. I love the history of these houses. This one was floated down the Mississippi River on a barge and assembled. ”

Pre-war houses are interesting to work with because he can see how carpenters and builders first built the house. Most of the time, Guillory said he would find newspapers in the walls which they used as insulation. One house had posters inside the walls.

Other oddities found inside the houses include a gun and toys, he said. Inside his truck is a rusty tin toy plane with missing wings and wheels.

In his time away from construction work, Guillory said he enjoyed hunting or fishing.

“I like to fish the old river and Lac Saint-Jean, Lac Concordia,” said Guillory. “I like to hunt in reserves or wildlife management areas. I don’t hunt as much anymore. I got a little exhausted on that too. I’ve reached the age where I like to rest and can’t get up at 4 a.m. on weekends walking in the woods to hunt.