karencarpenterfans
Tori Holub
Quite a few months ago now, I was contacted with the opportunity to purchase a copy of Karen Carpenter's 9th grade South Downey Junior High yearbook. At first I was skeptical and asked for more pictures, but low and behold, the seller sent me her yearbook photo, which I had never seen before- and that's saying a lot. Needless to say, I bought it! It really gives me chills to flip through.
Karen was 13 or 14 at the time, and after searching through the book, I was able to find that she apparently was in the Ninth Grade Service Club, called "The Estrellitas" (meaning "The Stars" in Spanish).
I did a Tik Tok video showcasing the pictures awhile ago, but it didn't seem to spread the word! I figured the best place to share these with everybody is for discussion over here on A&M Corner! Unless these have somehow been seen and shared "underground" between fans, I don't believe they have ever surfaced online! I hope you all enjoy!
Signature?
There were several signatures in the book ranging in all grades/age groups, but there were actually a significant amount of signatures from students in the ninth grade, though the original owner of the book was in the seventh grade. Karen was not in any extra curricular activities with different ages, but perhaps she could have been in an elective. There were a total of four signatures in the book from girls named "Karen," but one stood out to me as being very close to Karen Carpenter's signature- unfortunately there is no listed last name. The writing is a bit messy, and I've noticed it's a little bit more "squiggly," indicating the person signing the book may have been standing up, and/or in a hurry. The message reads: "To a cute girl, from the cutest one of all! (HA, HA) / Karen" . Maybe you guys can help me out with this part- I swear I have read something, potentially from another signature, where Karen writes the same "(HA, HA)." Maybe this was just a common thing among kids back then (?). Karen was known to have a devilish sense of humor, and a "tomboy" way of writing and speaking. To me, this looks like something she could have said.
Karen was a very popular name, so I don't hold out hope that this is our Karen's signature, but it's definitely fascinating to study! I suppose we will never truly know.
Karen was 13 or 14 at the time, and after searching through the book, I was able to find that she apparently was in the Ninth Grade Service Club, called "The Estrellitas" (meaning "The Stars" in Spanish).
I did a Tik Tok video showcasing the pictures awhile ago, but it didn't seem to spread the word! I figured the best place to share these with everybody is for discussion over here on A&M Corner! Unless these have somehow been seen and shared "underground" between fans, I don't believe they have ever surfaced online! I hope you all enjoy!
Signature?
There were several signatures in the book ranging in all grades/age groups, but there were actually a significant amount of signatures from students in the ninth grade, though the original owner of the book was in the seventh grade. Karen was not in any extra curricular activities with different ages, but perhaps she could have been in an elective. There were a total of four signatures in the book from girls named "Karen," but one stood out to me as being very close to Karen Carpenter's signature- unfortunately there is no listed last name. The writing is a bit messy, and I've noticed it's a little bit more "squiggly," indicating the person signing the book may have been standing up, and/or in a hurry. The message reads: "To a cute girl, from the cutest one of all! (HA, HA) / Karen" . Maybe you guys can help me out with this part- I swear I have read something, potentially from another signature, where Karen writes the same "(HA, HA)." Maybe this was just a common thing among kids back then (?). Karen was known to have a devilish sense of humor, and a "tomboy" way of writing and speaking. To me, this looks like something she could have said.
Karen was a very popular name, so I don't hold out hope that this is our Karen's signature, but it's definitely fascinating to study! I suppose we will never truly know.