By LAUREN WEST

NATCHEZ — After retiring from the Nissan North America plant in Canton in 2013, Bruce Wallace said he decided to move back to the Magnolia Avenue house in which he grew up.

“I love this old neighborhood,” Wallace said Friday, while standing under a shady tree planted in the front yard by his mother, Rose Wallace, 85, who still lives there with him today.

“I know everything about it,” Wallace said. “I rode my bike up and down this street. It’s home, you know.”

The Dart landed in Wallace’s front yard, which is the site of many happy childhood memories, he said.

“My mother planted that tree when I was a kid and messed up our baseball field,” Wallace said with a laugh. “We had a square in the front yard, and we would play baseball right here.”

Now under renovation, the family house his parents bought in the 1960s will serve as a location for him to enjoy his retirement and spend quality time with his own family, especially his grandchildren.

“I really love and enjoy my family,” said Wallace, 61

His love for his community, Wallace said, could be traced to his mom and his father, Maxie Wallace, who served as an Adams County Supervisor until his death and then Rose finished out his term.

Although politics was never something Wallace said he was interested in, he recognizes the value of connecting with people.

“I enjoy talking to people,” Wallace said.

While many of the people Wallace knew growing up no longer live in the neighborhood, he has made new connections.

“My neighbors are good people, and I enjoy them,” Wallace said.