NATCHEZ &045;&045; People who take both a morning and an afternoon tour on any given day during Spring Pilgrimage are destined to have a little d/j‡ vu.

Yes, that could be the hostess from a different house earlier that day now imparting knowledge about a different house. In fact, a number of the hostesses float around to many different houses during Pilgrimage.

Julia Kendall, who spent her Sunday morning at Cottage Gardens and her Sunday afternoon at Rosalie, is a hostess at six homes during Pilgrimage. &uot;I do it for the enjoyment of it,&uot; said Julia Kendall, who is originally from Illinois.

&uot;I love history. I love the South,&uot; she said, and she tells people she was a southerner in another life.

&uot;I thought it was the neatest thing to do to live in the South,&uot; she said. Now, she is living out her dream and telling people from Wisconsin, Texas, Illinois, Missouri and New York City all about Natchez and its homes.

Whether it’s, &uot;Now the piano is a rectangular grand piano …&uot; at Rosalie or the history of Cottage Gardens or even the history of the dining room at Green Leaves, Kendall said it is easy to keep it all straight. &uot;I look at everything like a great, big house,&uot; Kendall said. &uot;When I step out, I turn the lights out in one room and then turn them on coming into the next. That’s how I keep them all straight.&uot;

Mary Frances Jones, another Rosalie hostess Sunday afternoon, also has a number of homes she works at during Pilgrimage &045;&045; five in fact. She said it’s &uot;easy&uot; to keep them all straight.

&uot;Once you do one house and know how to do it, it’s easy … The only thing I get wrong is sometimes at Longwood I say, ‘Welcome to Rosalie,’&uot; but that is all she mixes up.

Jones and Kendall said the homeowners give each hostess a script to gather information about the home so they can tell visitors about it.

Kendall said she made her own cheat sheets out of index cards and covered them so they would keep up through the years. On the first day, she will refer to them, but by the third day or so, she is on a roll.

&uot;She just spits it out,&uot; said Pam Berry from McComb about Kendall.

Berry was working the room next to Kendall Sunday and was very impressed with her knowledge and skill. &uot;She’s very smooth. She’s a natural at it.&uot;

Berry comes from McComb to work about twice a year at Rosalie, usually one time per Pilgrimage.

She said it is hard to remember all the facts and dates and keep them straight, adding she was studying her notes on the drive up Sunday. &uot;They amaze me at the way they can remember the facts, details and stories,&uot; Berry said.

Not only do the women have to have a good memory but an extensive wardrobe to work all of those days for a month of tours.

With six skirts, 20 tops, many sashes, at least two full dresses and two two-piece outfits, Kendall’s closet is pretty full of costumes to wear during Pilgrimage.

&uot;I have almost as much of a wardrobe as I do in regular clothes,&uot; she said.

Both Kendall and Jones do not stop with Pilgrimage house tours, also helping with the pageant each night.

Jones is in charge of the tickets and selling the leftovers the night of the pageant. Both of these ladies are dedicated to the Natchez experience. Jones said she just loves the people she meets. ‘&uot;I just enjoy talking to people that come from other countries and all over the country,&uot; she said.