22. Sleepy Hollow, New York

Join Jackie and Jon on their not so spooky exploration of Sleepy Hollow, New York.  There will be graves of very rich men, storytellers in old churches, and 7,000 pumpkins heads.

Jackie Reilly: Host
Jon Schaller: Host
Charles: Producer
Email: cozynookexplorers@gmail.com
Instagram: @cozynookexplorers

Community Shoutout:
Kids Club of Tarrytown and Sleepy Hollow

Mentioned in this episode:
Sleepy Hollow Tourism Website 
Lyndhurst Mansion
Lyndhurst Mansion Virtual Tours   
Jonathan Kruk
The Virtual Legend of Sleepy Hollow
Coffee Lab Roasters 

Transcript

JACKIE: I’m Jackie 

JON: And I’m Jon 

JACKIE: And we are the cozy nook explorers!

JON: Welcome to our show where we explore the world from our cozy nook here in a guest room in Southern CALIFORNIA using the power of the internet!

Jackie: Yes and it’s Wednesday which means it’s time for another exploration!

Jon:  Today on our Halloween show we will be breaking tradition a bit and be going to a place that both Jackie and I have been.

Jackie:  We are going to the not too spooky Sleepy Hollow in the State of New York.  We were actually there last fall with our friends Dan and Mel! It was such a fun day! It’s even more special to me now because we haven't been able to go on an adventure like this for over 7 months because of the pandemic. 

Jon: Yeah, that was a really fun day. We posted photos from our trip to Sleepy Hollow on our instagram page @cozynookexplorers if you’d like to go check it out. 

Jackie: It was so great looking back at those pictures! The fall is the perfect time of year to visit!

Jon: So, Sleepy Hollow is in Upstate New York.

Jackie:  No it is in the Hudson Valley and only about 35 minutes outside of the city which I don’t think is considered upstate.

Jon:  Everything north of New York City is Upstate to me.

Jackie:  I am pretty sure you are wrong but I’m honestly not sure. To all those celebrating Happy Halloween! Do you like to dress up for halloween, Jon?

Jon: I usually just write down what I am going as and staple it to my shirt.

Jackie: That’s your costume?

Jon: Yup.

Jackie: Ok…. well, I don’t think I’m going to dress up this year, but I love dressing up for Halloween! Also, Charles told me he is going to be a pumpkin this year and his best friend is going as a jester.

Jon: Two classic costumes. Well, Jackie, before we head to Sleepy Hollow- what’s keeping you cozy on this autumn day?

What’s Keeping You Cozy 

Jackie: Decorative Gourds.

Jon: Decorative gourds are what’s keeping you cozy?

Jackie: Yes. Do you have a problem with that?

Jon: It just doesn’t seem like they aren’t that cozy is all.

Jackie: You’re judging my cozy and I don’t appreciate it.

Jon: Ok, ok. Tell us WHY decorative gourds are keeping you cozy this week.

Jackie: Well, who doesn’t LOVE a decorative gourd display in the fall? It’s so fun to pick out different ones and make a little arrangment! They look great in the middle of a dinner table or on a side table. You can even make a cornucopia! I also love how long they last. You can get them in September and keep them out all the way to Thanksgiving! Except in southern California where I learned the heat will destroy your decorative gourds- I still love them though. 

Questions:

• Do you have a favorite type of decorative gourd?
• Do you prefer decorative gourds or decorative corn?

Jon: The thing that is keeping me Cozy is a Creaking Floor Board.

Questions:  Well Jon my first question is…. Is umm…..why?  No one likes creaking floor boards.

Jon: Well, who is judging who now?

Jackie: Ok, fine. Me. I’m judging you. But, only because you promised this episode wouldn’t be too spooky. So, please answer my question as to WHY creaky floor boards are keeping you cozy?

• My second question is where have you experienced a really good creaking floor board?

Let’s Get Into It 

Jackie: Before we dive in I just wanted to make sure to quickly note that Sleepy Hollow is right next to Tarrytown. These two towns kind of meld together, so you’ll hear us reference both in the episode. Now what was it you wanted to talk about? 

Jon:  Frederick Philipse, lord of Philipsburg Manor had a little bit of a problem back in the late 1600’s  he was looking to build a mill on the hudson river.  He saw that grain was abundant in the hudson valley new york and wanted to be able to use that grain for the purposes of making flour.  

Jackie: The idea was to sell a ton of flour to New York City and make boatloads of money.

Jon:   So he built a mill on the Hudson river that tore itself to pieces and sank into said river.

Jackie:  So he built another one and that sank into the river.  When one of his slaves had a dream.  The dream was that if Frederick Philipse were to build a church first - then the mill would not fall into the river.  So he built the Old Dutch Reformed Church of Sleepy Hollow and his next mill did not sink.  

Jon:  The Old Dutch Reformed church is still around today.  The church had a cemetery around it.  And in that cemetery is the man who made Sleepy Hollow legendary.

Jackie:  We are speaking of course of Washington Irving and his story The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.

Jon:  First we would like to clear something up about the story.  There is no headless horseman buried in Sleepy Hollow cemetery.

Jackie:  There was however a revolutionary war soldier who lost his head in a cannonball attack. He is also not buried there, but his story made its way to Sleepy Hollow.

Jon:  For those of you friends who don’t know the story of the Legend of Sleepy Hollow.  It is about a love triangle between Brohm Bones, Katrina Van Tassel and Ichabod Crane.  

Jackie:  That’s what you remember about the story? You don’t remember the headless horseman?!

Jon:  Well yes but that is why Brohm Bones tells the story of the headless horseman to Ichabod Crane so that he can scare him away from his lady love.

Jackie: Such peculiar names; Ichabod and Brohm

Jon:  Well Brohm is short for Abraham and Washington Irving did know a guy named Ichabod when he was in the War of 1812

Jackie:  It is also peculiar that the church that Washington Irving wrote about was the church where he would be buried.

Jon:  Well sort of he grew up there and lived there for the later half of his life.  One of the interesting things about the graveyard where he is buried is that they have walking tours of said graveyard.

Jackie:  Yes! We went on that tour thanks to Dan and Mel and I loved our tour guide. She was so cool.  My favorite part of the walking tour was being inside the catacombs.  It’s a building where they house dead people.

Jon:  There were no dead people in these catacombs but they are designed to be able to house dead people during the winter because they can’t dig in frozen ground and it gets really cold in New York in the winter. 

Jackie: Who was that picture of the actor in the catacombs.

Jon:  I do not remember,  he was from the TV Show Dark Shadows which was a Soap Opera about Vampires. I remember that.

Jackie:  Yeah they had his photo because they filmed a scene inside those catacombs. 

Jon:  Was it Jonathan Frid the first guy to play Barabus Collins in the TV show?

Jackie:  I honestly don’t remember.

Jon:  Well I do remember is that there are ventilation holes in the catacombs.

Jackie:  Jon, that is too creepy.

Jon:  It is because bodies emit explosive gases after they die and crypts have exploded in the past so they build ventilation holes to try and prevent this from happening.

Jackie:  Not cozy and too spooky.  What was your favorite part of the cemetery?  

Jon:  The gravestone of Andrew Carneggie.

Jackie:  I remember you stopping there.

Jon:  I remember thinking this is the opposite of grandiose.

Jackie:  Especially because it is so close to where the  Rockefeller’s are buried. And wow- those people spent a fortune on that enormous white tomb.

Jon:  That is what I mean.  That this guy was worth like well over 300 billion dollars in today’s money.   He gave almost all of it away.

Jackie:  His grave is still very pretty, it is a white celtic cross with his name and his wife’s name which was Louise Carnegie.

Jon:  This guy was a pretty mixed bag of awesome and terrible but I got to hand it to him.  He believed “The man who dies rich dies disgraced” 

Jackie:  And he made good on his belief by building over 3,500 libraries.  And didn’t they base Scrooge McDuck on him?

Jon:  They did what is really touching is that people leave pennies on his grave.  As a if to say you gave so much here is a little back.

Jackie: That’s so nice. I also really liked the wooden bridge that is in the cemetery. That was really neat. We will have to include a photo of us there on the Cozy Nook Explorers instagram! It’s meant to resemble what bridges were like back when the headless horseman would have been roaming about. The current headless horseman bridge is not wood, so this is the closest you’ll get to an authentic bridge in the area. 

Jon:  Yes this resembles the bridge mentioned in the story.

Jackie: Jon, we MUST talk about the Lyndhurst Mansion!

Jon: Oh yes, this is amazing.

Jackie: We’ve actually never been there and I didn’t even know that this place existed until we were researching this episode. 

Jon: The Mansion is in Tarrytown and was built in 1837. It looks like it belongs in England.

Jackie: Yes, it’s huge and beautiful and you can go there and walk through the mansion. You can also visit the grounds where they have beautiful gardens.  Think the Great British Baking Show exterior shots and you’ll have a sense of how amazing and beautiful this place is. 

Jon: There are over 40 rooms to explore in the house and on a clear day you can even see New York City from the grounds. 

Jackie: And you always have a view of the Hudson River! One of my favorite facts about the mansion is that it’s 3rd owner Jay Gould knew his neighbor Mr. Tiffany of Tiffany’s fame and he had him create beautiful stained glass windows for his upstairs library. They are wonderful. I love Tiffany stained glass. 

Jon: We will need to do an episode on the New York Historical Society and talk all about their Tiffany lamp collection.

Jackie: It’s the largest in the world!  The Lyndhurst Mansion has Tiffany lamps as well.  

Jon: Very cool. 

Jackie: Something I wanted to make sure to mention is that they have virtual tours of the mansion on their website! I will include the link in the show notes. They even have tours of the mansion when it is decorated for Halloween and Christmas!  

Jon: Which was your favorite?

Jackie: Halloween was great, but a little spooky, so I have to say I liked Christmas more. 

Jon: Speaking of Christmas did you see the connection between Charles Dickens and Washington Irving?

Jackie: Yeah that was amazing and very unexpected!  And we will talk about that after a word from our sponsor.

Ad- Decorative Gourds 

Jackie: This podcast is brought to you by Gordy’s Gourds- the one stop shop for all of your fall decor needs. They’ve got little gourds, big gourds, gourds so big you can make bird houses out of them, decorative gourds, and edible gourds. They’ve got decorative corn, but they don’t have edible corn. And best of all, cornucopia kits- all the pieces you need to make a cornucopia that the whole world will enjoy!  And important to note they are open for 1 day only somewhere on the shoulder of Route 202 South heading towards Flemington- October 15th from 9AM to noon. 

Jon: Jackie, this episode doesn’t come out until October 21st. 

Jackie: Oh, bummer. Nevermind.

LET’S GET INTO IT 2

Jackie:  So Charles Dickens of course wrote A Christmas Carol which is one of the most- if not the most- famous Christmas stories in the world.  

Jon: Well, Charles Dickens was actually a huge fan of Washington Irving and even wrote him letters when he was a young boy. There is a letter that he wrote to Irving when he was just 8 years old on the Sleepy Hollow website.  

Jackie: Irving had actually written a Christmas tale that even included ghosts stories and a grumpy man who needs to come face to face with his loneliness in order to understand the power of community.  Sounds like a Scrooge to me.

Jon: That’s what a lot of people think.  So, if Charles Dickens was honoring Washington Irving when he wrote his Christmas classic- does that mean that Washington Irving invented the modern day Christmas as well as the modern day Halloween?

Jackie: It’s definitely a possibility- and the town of Sleepy Hollow sure seems to think so!  

Jon: Should we talk about the Jack-O-Lantern Blaze?

Jackie: Yeah this is really cool! We didn’t get to do this when we visited, but you can see over 7,000 hand carved and illuminated pumpkins! 

Jon: They have a pumpkin carousel.

Jackie: A pumpkin windmill.

Jon: A pumpkin planetarium. 

Jackie: AND a 25 foot high pumpkin Statue of Liberty.

Jon: And this is just the tip of the iceberg.

Jackie: I’d like to see that next time I visit Sleepy Hollow. It looks really festive! So, something we did get to do while we were in Sleepy Hollow was see Jonathan Kruk do his wonderful performance of the Legend Of Sleepy Hollow. 

Jon: He performs the show in the Old Dutch Reformed Church that is from the legend itself.

Jackie: The atmosphere is so cool. You sit in the church pews and there’s even an organ player. Jonathan is a really well crafted storyteller and does such a great job with the spooky, but not too spooky atmosphere. 

Jon: Tell them about the virtual show. 

Jackie: Oh yeah- so unfortunately because of the pandemic they had to cancel the show this year because there’s no way to really social distance in a little old church, BUT Jonathan Kruk is doing a live virtual performance from the Old Dutch Reformed Church on Halloween night! 

Jon: We can’t wait to watch this performance again. If you aren’t sure what to do this Halloween because of the pandemic we’d recommend checking this out. 

Jackie: We are so excited to get to see this performance again!  It’s going to be so neat to get to go back to the church virtually, especially now that we are in California and we are so excited to be able to share this with all of you!

Jon: It will be the perfect cozy nook exploration. 

Jackie: Indeed. Well, that’s about all I have over here. Anything else from your end? 

Jon: Incase you were wondering, Tim Burton’s film version of Sleepy Hollow has nothing to do with Washington Irvings The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and was filmed in England and not in New York. Anything else?

Jackie: Yeah- shout out to Coffee Lab Roasters in Tarrytown! We stopped in there while we were visiting and it was great! They had a really lovely atmosphere and everything was delicious! AND their logo is a LABRADOR PUPPY! I’d recommend checking it out if you are in the area! Anything else?

Jon: Yes. Since it’s in the public domain, I thought we could read  Washington Irving’s description of Sleepy Hollow from the legend itself. 

Jackie: Sounds great- I’ll start off: There is a little valley or rather lap of land among high hills, which is one of the quietest places in the whole world. A small brook glides through it, with just murmur enough to lull one to repose; and the occasional whistle of a quail or tapping of a woodpecker is almost the only sound that ever breaks in upon the uniform tranquillity. 

Jon: If ever I should wish for a retreat whither I might steal from the world and its distractions, and dream quietly away the remnant of a troubled life, I know of none more promising than this little valley.  

Jackie: 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 the name of SLEEPY HOLLOW.  

Jon: A drowsy, dreamy influence seems to hang over the land, and to pervade the very atmosphere. 

Jackie: Ah- I just love that.  Well, I think that’s about it. We will be back with our community shoutout after a quick ad break.

Ad Creaky Floor Boards

June:  Oh I love, love, love my new floor boards and I can’t wait to show them off to my guests on halloween.

Peter:  But they could be better June

June:  How did you get in my house?

Peter:  Oh your door wasn’t locked

June:  Yes it was

Peter:  Oh well nevermind

June:  Who are you?

Peter:   I am actor Peter Lorre

June: Who?

Peter:  I was in Stranger on the Third Floor

June:  Never heard of it

Peter:  Maltese Falcon

June:  Nope

Peter:  The Man who knew too much

June:  No Sorry 

Peter:  Fine.  I was the creepy guy in Casablanca

June:  Oh yes now I…...

Peter:  Yes everyone remembers that one.  But I am here to talk about your state of your floor boards

June:  What’s wrong with my-

Peter:  They don’t creak how can you have a halloween party if you don’t have a creaking floorboard!!!!

June OK OK I will get your creaking floor boards

Peter:  Good choice.  Peter Lorre’s creaking Floor boards because you can trust man who has been dead since 1964

June:  What?

Peter:  (Laughs)

Community Shoutout/ Outro 

Jon: Every episode we like to research and highlight something special in the community that we are exploring.

Jackie: Today’s community shoutout is Kids Club of Tarrytown and Sleepy Hollow. I loved learning all about this wonderful non-profit.

Jon: According to their website Kids’ Club of Tarrytown & Sleepy Hollow provides support for underserved youth.  As a community organization, they marshal resources, increase local awareness, advocate for programming, and strengthen services to improve the lives of children and families.

Jackie: Their programs include academic support, beyond high school which helps with college prep and scholarships, enrichment and recreation, health and nutrition, and literacy. There are a bunch of programs within these programs, so I thought it would be fun to each choose one that we liked the most.

Jon: I really liked the Warner Library programs like Listening to Learn where the Kids Club enabled Warner Library to purchase books in MP3 and CD formats so that kids who do not have ipods and other listening devices can come to the library and listen to audiobooks there. Many people are auditory learners and this gives those people the opportunity to utilize their strongest learning style.

Jackie: That’s great! So my favorite program is called Smart Babies! 

Jon: Of course it is.

Jackie: I know!! So, this is a program for new mothers and their infants. It’s a weekly class that emphasizes reading and talking to your baby and helps them prepare the babies for the future. A really awesome feature of Smart Babies is that they also provide a support network for the mothers themselves which is so so important!

Jon: That sounds wonderful. We will include a link to their website in the show notes so you can check it out. 

Jackie: You can also donate through their website as well!

Jon: Well, that’s the show. Thank you to our producer Charles.

Jackie: Thank you Charles. And thank you so much to our listener Debbie for suggesting we explore Sleepy Hollow!

Jon: Thank you Debbie! And thank you to our listeners! It really means a lot to us that you take the time to listen to our show.

Jackie: Yes- thank you so much! If you’ve been enjoying this podcast please take the time to rate us and write a review on apple podcasts. It helps the show, so we’d really appreciate it!

Jon: Also, you can follow us on Instagram @cozynookexplorers or send us an email at cozynookexplorers@gmail.com. We’d love to hear what’s keeping you cozy and where you think we should travel to next.

Jackie:  We will be back in TWO Wednesdays with our next exploration.

Jon: Yes, on Wednesdays we explore!

Jackie: Stay cozy, and we’ll see you soon.