NATCHEZ &045;&045; Not only is the history of Mississippi steeped in the bricks of Historic Jefferson College but also the history of all that gathered Saturday to remember their time spent on the grounds.

Alumni from the Jefferson Military College made their way to the site Saturday to enjoy good times, good food and good old stories.

From the oldest, a former teacher at the college, L.A. Wasson, 93, to the oldest cadet, Dan Foxworth, 87, to some of the youngest, Lynn Gaskin, John Weems and Mike Gemmell, everyone had their stories to tell about the place they once called home.

According to Gemmell, it was incorporated in 1802, later becoming a full-fledged college in 1817, a preparatory school and then a military college by the end of the 19th century. However, the military school closed its doors in 1964.

And alumni did drive from many places to visit with old friends, who were then much like family.

&uot;We spent 24-7 together,&uot; Gemmell said.

While the memories are not always so fond, most of them told Saturday were.

&uot;It’s a love-hate relationship,&uot; alumni John Peterson said of the college. When he was there, from 1946 to 1949, he &uot;hated every minute of it&uot; but now it is so important to him to drive the 475 miles from Pulaski, Tenn. to come.

&uot;It’s just something in you,&uot; Peterson said.

&uot;It’s a part of my history,&uot; Frank Carlton added as he and his grandson, Read, walked along the path of memorial bricks inscribed with the names of cadets of the school.

&uot;I think it’s sort of the same thing that takes you to cemeteries, you want to remember and be a part of it from before,&uot; Carlton said of the reunions.

The most senior cadet at the reunion Saturday, Dan Foxworth, said it was important for him to go to school at Jefferson Military College, which he attended from 1932 to 1938.

&uot;They taught me how to treat the fellow man,&uot; he said. &uot;They taught me there was someone besides me. But they made a man out of me.

&uot;I thought my folks were a little hard on me, sending me,&uot; he said.

But after those first long nights, he, like so many, grew to love the school.

&uot;It was a wonderful place. I’ll never forget it,&uot; Foxworth said.

Many, like Foxworth, said it saved them from prison or worse, death.

L.A. Wasson, who taught for three years at the school, said he did not remember the boys being that bad. But on one April Fool’s Day he gave some of the boys something to remember. None of them lined up for class that day, and he went out looking for them.

He saw a group of the boys on the other side of the creek, so he had to cross it to catch them. He caught all but two of them.

The boys always wanted to know how he got across that creek without getting his feet wet, but he never told. Not long after leaving the school, Wasson became a preacher.

One day, he saw one of the students from the school, who said, &uot;I didn’t know you were a pastor, but I knew you could walk on water.&uot;

His nickname from the school was Creepin’ Jesus, because he could find the students without ever giving himself away.

These were just some of the stories told Saturday as the former cadets traversed the halls they once lived in.

But the memories and the bonds they have together bring them back year after year to visit the site and hear the stories.