How did you come to know Ichabod Crane?

Somebody told me that the schoolteacher, Ichabod Crane, taught psalmody* classes. I was interested in taking the classes, so I began to attend them. Ichabod was a wonderful teacher. After the class, my friend introduced us.

Describe what Ichabod Crane was like .

Ichabod was very popular with the children, he would play with the older boys, and take the younger ones home. Once I was going to visit a friend, and I saw him sitting with a child on his knee, rocking a cradle with his foot. Then on my way back home an hour later, he was still sitting there with the children!!!

What kind of schoolteacher was Ichabod Crane?

There was never any commotion going on in the schoolhouse, and Ichabod always said to "Spare the rod and spoil the child." After school hours, Ichabod was the playmate of the older boys. Sometimes he walked the younger children home. He was very kind, but strict. In my opinion, that is the way a schoolteacher should act.

How did you meet and come to know Katrina Van Tassel. Tell us what you think of her.

After one of his psalmody lessons, Ichabod introduced me to Katrina. We weren't exactly friends, but we greeted each other and chatted sometimes. Katrina was of fresh eighteen as Ichabod would say. She was not my type of friend because I was older than her, but she was a kind, sweet little girl.

Did you attend Mynheer Van Tassel's party? What happened there?

Oh yes, I attended the party. First we ate food. We had honey cakes, ginger cakes, sweet cakes, and shortcakes, cakes of every type. There were pumpkin pies, peach pies, apple pies. There was ham and roasted chicken, smoked beef . Oh there was so much delicious food!!! After that we danced to music played by an old man with an instrument in very bad shape. When I stopped dancing for a while to catch my breath, I saw that Ichabod was dancing with Katrina. I was happy for him because I knew he wanted to marry her. As I walked around to observe the party, I saw Brom Bones sitting in a corner watching Ichabod and Katrina with a jealous look in his eyes. I had to laugh to myself about that. Then it was story telling time. There were stories about white women who roamed and haunted, some of the stories were so scary that I don't even want to mention them. However, of all the stories, the favorite story was of the Hessian trouper, the specter of Sleepy Hollow!!!

What did you think when Ichabod Crane was not found? What was your reaction when his hat was found?

I could hardly think of anything when he was not found! The only thing I could think about was all the dreadful things that could have happened. When his hat was found, I knew that something dreadful had happened. I took a different hat from his home and buried it, along with a psalmody book, in the bed of clover that Ichabod had loved to read in all the time. I visit Ichabod's monument that I made many times and do not leave without weeping upon it.

What did the community decide to do when Ichabod was not found? Tell us about the new schoolteacher.

The community didn't do anything except look for him. There was no new schoolteacher after Ichabod. The schoolhouse was just left in it's place until it decayed and fell down. I am very upset about that.

We heard that a farmer came to Sleepy Hollow and claims to have seen Ichabod Crane and said that he is studying law. What was your reaction?

When the farmer came to Sleepy Hollow and explained where Ichabod Crane had gone, I was overjoyed! Even my friends said I had a cheeriness I hadn't had science Ichabod left!

Could you tell us about Katrina and her marriage to Brom. Is she happy?

Well, a few weeks after Ichabod left, Brom proposed. She said yes, of course, and they were married. I think that Katrina should have waited a bit, since we thought Ichabod had just died. I think she is happy with her marriage, but I don't pry.

*Psalmody is the act of singing sacred songs or hymns.