Local author Debra Daugherty reads at Waverly Public Library
Debra Daugherty read The Memory Jar and Cows Can't Be Clowns at Waverly Public Library, giving local children and families a hometown-author visit.
Debra Daugherty turned the Waverly Public Library into a small stage for local children and families, reading from The Memory Jar and Cows Can’t Be Clowns. The central Illinois children’s author brought two recent titles to Morgan County, giving the library a hometown-book event built around stories published in 2023 and 2024.
Daugherty is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators and serves as the SCBWI-Illinois network representative for the Springfield area. She began writing children’s stories for her nieces and nephews when they were young, and her publishing credits now include Grandpa’s Barn, published in 2025, Calamity Cat, The Memory Jar, Cows Can’t Be Clowns and two children’s stories in Guardian Angel Kids e-zine. The reading gave Waverly a chance to see a working regional author bring that body of work home to a public library setting.
Waverly gave the visit a distinctly local backdrop. Founded in 1836, it is the second-largest city in Morgan County, with nearly 1,200 residents and about 3,000 customers in its local trading area. In a town that size, the library does more than lend books. It also serves as one of the places where families can gather around children’s programming, and the author visit fit a pattern that already includes story hours, book sales and other community events.
The library’s roots run deep. The original public library in Waverly was established in December 1880 as the Waverly Association, and the first recorded circulation of books came on January 15, 1881. In 1911, Miss Estelle Harris started a movement to establish a Carnegie Public Library, with Andrew Carnegie’s proposed $4,500 gift tied to the city council raising at least 10% annually for support. More than a century later, Daugherty’s reading showed how that legacy still works: drawing children in, giving families a reason to spend time downtown, and keeping literacy at the center of local life.
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