‘From the listless repose of the place, and the peculiar character of its inhabitants, who are descendants from the original Dutch settlers, this sequestered glen has long been known by name of Sleepy Hollow … A drowsy, dreamy influence seems to hang over the land, and to pervade the very atmosphere.’
So described by Washington Irving in “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” a village in Westchester County, New York or is it another “sleepy” village in Carbon Canyon where Ichabods Square Dance Club was born at the Ichabod Cafe on October 21, 1965?
‘He was tall, but exceedingly lank, with narrow shoulders, long arms and legs, hands that dangled a mile out of his sleeves, feet that might have served for shovels, and his whole frame most loosely hung together. His head was small, and flat at top, with huge ears, large green glassy eyes and a long snipe nose, so that it looked like a weather-cock perched upon his spindle neck, to tell which way the wind blew.’
Ichabod is a prickly and stuck-up schoolmaster and a bumbling suitor for the lovely Katrina, who uses him to make her beau jealous. The pompous twit is no match for the clever locals, and he is chased away by the headless horseman through a darkened wood.
In a frenzied race to the bridge adjacent to the old Dutch burying ground where the Hessian is said to “vanish, according to rule, in a flash of fire and brimstone” upon crossing it, Ichabod rides for his life, desperately goading his temperamental plow horse down the Hollow.
However, to Ichabod’s horror, the ghoul clambers over the bridge, rears his horse, and hurls his severed head into Ichabod’s terrified face. The schoolmaster attempts to duck beneath the terrible missile, but is too late when it strikes his head and sends him tumbling headlong into the dust. The next morning, Ichabod has mysteriously disappeared from town.
Happy Halloween!
Ichabod Square Dance Club, Orange County, California 