Celebrating 10 Years of Hannah’s Reading Garden

For the past ten years, Hannah’s Reading Garden has been at the heart of the Morton Library’s Summer Reading Program. This beautiful outdoor space was created in the fall of 2014 through a generous gift from Dan and Lynne Walters in honor of their granddaughter, Hannah Thompson. With a concrete stage built by Aupperle Construction, thoughtfully designed landscaping from S.A. Moreland Landscapes, and architectural plans from Keach Architectural Designs, the garden quickly became a favorite spot for families and visitors.

Since its completion in June 2015, Hannah’s Reading Garden has provided a safe, shady, and welcoming place for our popular Friday summer events. Families gather here to enjoy jugglers, comedians, magicians, musicians, puppets, and more—all part of the fun during our Summer Reading Program.

In 2016, we introduced “Groove in the Garden,” a Friday night concert series in July featuring local bands. What started as a small idea has grown into a beloved community tradition, regularly drawing crowds of over 200 people for free music, food trucks, and a fun, festive atmosphere.

Even during the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Hannah’s Reading Garden allowed us to keep connecting with our community. We held outdoor programs and even provided book checkout services in the garden while our building was closed.

Today, Hannah’s Reading Garden continues to be a vibrant space for storytimes, cooking demonstrations, nature programs, concerts, and so much more. It’s a place where the community comes together to learn, laugh, and make memories.

The Walters continue to support the improvement and maintenance of Hannah’s Reading Garden through the Hannah’s Reading Garden Endowment Fund at the Morton Community Foundation.

The Library is celebrating the 10th anniversary in three different ways:

10 concerts for 10 years - our Groove in the Garden concert series is lasting for 10 weeks this year! See the line up here.

Garden Party Games - we’ve created a collection of yard games available for check out for two weeks to enhance your outdoor family time and events this summer. This seasonal collection will be available from late spring to early fall. View the collection here.

Library Storywalk - we’ve installed a storywalk at the library, beginning out our front door, down Pershing Street, up Peoria Street and ending in the garden. We’ve also added additional seating in the reading garden and installed a little little free library as well.