Her years at Historic Jefferson College have gone quickly, said historian Anne Gray, who celebrates 25 years at the site at the same time she prepares for the 25th Copper Magnolia Festival and Flea Market on Sept. 16.

&8220;I had taught school until 1981, when I took the job here,&8221; Gray said. &8220;I came to take care of the artifacts, do research and assist people with questions.&8221;

Her research about life at the historic school and in the community surrounding it led to the idea of the Copper Magnolia.

&8220;The first year we called it the Historic Jefferson College Crafts Fair. That was 1982,&8221; she said.

That original name was too long for some of the promotional marquees and banners. She began to think about an attractive, shorter name.

&8220;I was researching decorations for another program and read how to color magnolia leaves using glycerine,&8221; Gray said. &8220;The magnolias turned a copper color using that process. I thought Copper Magnolia Festival would be catchy, and it is.&8221;

Her research had turned up information about agricultural fairs that were held regularly at Jefferson College, the first institution of higher learning in the state of Mississippi.

&8220;People brought their produce to sell. They showed the newest farm equipment and the ladies showed off their handiwork,&8221; she said.

The first year, the main attractions were crafts and demonstrations of such things as making soap. &8220;And years ago, we had a clown and a magician,&8221; she said.

Many changes have taken place during the years since the program began. One thing that has not changed is the homey feeling at the festival and flea market. Activities include family-oriented attractions for all ages.

The fetsival will begin at 9 a.m. However, early arrivals may accompany Jean Simonton on a nature walk beginning at 8:15 a.m. Simonton has identified and labeled trees along the trail.

A big change in the last several years is the partnership with the Adams County Master Gardeners. &8220;They will be holding their fall workshop in connection with the festival,&8221; Gray said.

The gardeners will host small programs throughout the day, including classes on making natural wreaths, on preserving herbs and on composting, for example.

Musicians who will perform during the festival include the Natchez Community Band, beginning at 11 a.m. The Section 8 Band will play, also.

The success of the Copper Magnolia program matches that of other programs designed by Gray for Jefferson College, said Jim Barnett, director of the Division of Historic Properties for the state Department of Archives and History.

&8220;Anne has developed a number of programs that really have become what people think of when they think about Historic Jefferson College,&8221; Barnett said.

&8220;In addition to the Copper Magnolia Festival, there&8217;s the Victorian Children&8217;s Christmas and the Pioneer Week,&8221; he said.

&8220;Those programs have stood the test of time. Twenty-five years is an amazing length of time, and it&8217;s invaluable to have a tradition like that.&8221;

For Gray, the experience has been fun and educational, as well. She began right away in 1981 to find out interesting things about the college, now owned and operated by the state Archives and History Department and open to the public since 1977.

She was interested in the legend of Jefferson Davis as a student at the school. &8220;I read a good bit about him. He was here one semester as a 10-year-old in 1818,&8221; Gray said. &8220;And of course it was not a military school at that time.&8221;

Gray has worked with numerous filmmakers who chose Jefferson College as the site for some scenes for famous movies and television specials.

Still, it is the hometown people and events she enjoys the most &8212; especially the events that involve children.

The Children&8217;s Victorian Christmas was her first program, which she began in 1981 soon after arriving at the site to work.

&8220;We put up one large tree and had 800 fifth-graders decorate the tree that year,&8221; she said.

&8220;When they finished, the bottom one-third of the tree was decorated and the top two-thirds was bare. The next year we gave each class their own smaller tree,&8221; she said.

The Copper Magnolia Festival will include many activities for children as well as the flea market and a bake sale sponsored by the William Dunbar Chapter Daughters of the American Revolution.

There is no charge to attend the festival.