NATCHEZ — While living in Missouri for more than a decade, Jay and Jeremy Sanders dealt with their fair share of snowy and icy roads.

So when the two brothers and their father, Tommy, saw dozens of stranded motorists Tuesday and Wednesday in Natchez, they decided to use the expertise they gained during Missouri winters to lend a hand.

The Sanders family, originally from Natchez, moved to Missouri in the mid-90s and moved back in 2008.

The Sanders men, who work at Miss-Lou Body Shop, drove around helping out anyone they saw stuck on the ice free of charge.

“When we got out riding around, people just looked like they were in a bind, and we just wanted to help them out,” Jay, 30, said.

The key to helping motorists, Jeremy, 28, said, was using Oil-Dri, a clay absorbent, to allow vehicles to get traction on slippery roads.

“We must have bought (more than) 20 bags of Oil-Dri. We went to every (auto) parts store in town and bought it. Word must have got out, because about an hour later, nobody had any left,” he said, laughing.

Jay said the men helped everyone from police officers stranded on Main Street and 18-wheeler drivers trying to put chains on their tires to Magnolia Bluffs Casino patrons who couldn’t make it up Roth Hill Road without sliding back down.

“That didn’t last very long, because they shut the road down, but the people who made it down there before it started to freeze had a time trying to get back up the road,” he said.

One of the most problematic areas for motorists, Jeremy said, was on U.S. 61 South between Trinity Episcopal Day School and Kingston. The men spent approximately three hours out there Wednesday morning assisting motorists.

“People just couldn’t get enough traction to make it up the hills,” he said.

Jay was in a two-wheel drive pickup truck, Jeremy a four-wheel drive truck and Tommy a tow truck while driving around.

“We knew we had plenty of equipment in case we got stuck ourselves, but we never ended up needing the tow truck,” Jay said. “The Oil-Dri worked pretty good.”

Although they paid for the Oil-Dri out of their own pockets and spent their own time on the roads, the Sanders men say they were happy to be helping hands.

“I don’t know how much money we spent, but it’s no big deal,” Jeremy said. “I’m the type of person who’s had a lot of people help me out, and I just want to do the same.”

Tommy, 58, said he enjoyed being out and about Tuesday and Wednesday lending a hand.

“It was actually fun,” he said. “I enjoyed it.”