First Laura.... < the 1907 graduation exercises for the East Side school were held in the < Baptist church and the West Siders had their commencement at the < Congregational church. Neither had their own school building. <Why churches though? Makes me wonder if the schools were east and west <because of geography only or was there a religious component involved? This is only a guess from a small-town Illinois girl...but I would think it quite likely that they used the churches because of seating. There would be a "stage" and lots of places for proud families to sit while the ceremony progressed. And, probably, for free or at least very low cost, to the District. Plus, it seems that there was little thought given to "separation of church and state" as far as cooperative spirit was concerned. I didn't graduate until 1959 (far from 1907 and, distressingly, nearly as far from 2003...but I digress...) and we used church buildings upon occasion, and even had some "religious" services in the high school gym. "Small town" may be the key word. I assume that the beginings of the town when they were lucky to have a building that could be used for "all" gatherings (not living and not a saloon) might have still been an influence in 1907. I'll be watching to see if anyone with local (Batavia) information has a more accurate view. Kristy from Plano