# Carol Karp Quiz Kid

Carol Karp only used the name Karp after her marriage so when at Alliance High School, Alliance, Ohio, she was Carol Vander Velde. There are many reports in the school magazine Red and Blue of Carol's activities at this school, but below we list the entries relating to the "Quiz Kid" competition.

Red and Blue 1 October 1943.
Carol Vander Velde To Try For Prize.
First prize of $4000, second prize of$3000, third prize of $2000, fourth prize of$1000, and sixteen prizes of $200 in bonds was the inducement which led a number of senior students from Alliance High School to compete in the quiz kid test at Canton on September 11. Carol Vander Velde, 12B, ranked among the top twenty from all Stark County high schools and will represent Alliance. Red and Blue 15 October 1943. Quiz Kid is Second. "Everyone at the studio was so friendly that I wasn't frightened," states Carol Vander Velde. Carol remains in second position with a score of 65,500. carol also said that the questions were difficult. In one particular mathematics problem, she states that the judges who were always solemn, broke into a laugh when she started to figure in the air with her finger. The judges are, for the most part, attorneys and professors. The thing that impressed Carol was that the other "Quiz Kids" were so "regular" and friendly. Red and Blue 12 November 1943. Vander Velde Strives in Second Broadcast. "What was O Henry's real name?" "Name the two rivers in Arabia." "Which is farther north?" For the second time, Monday November 1, our "Quiz Kid" Carol Vander Velde faced the judges in another try for the big scholarship prizes offered on the WHBC program. "Everything was swell until the last round," mourned Carol, "but then they started firing freshman and sophomore literature questions at me and I was sunk." Carol says being a Quiz Kid is still "loads of fun." "It isn't so much the winning part," she points out, "but it's such a grand experience." Red and Blue 25 February 1944. Quiz Kid Cops Honors Rates Sixth in Contest. On January 10, Carol "Quiz Kid" Vander Velde achieved the highest score of any contestant present by winning 91,000 points. Mr Walter Webb, principal, states that this placed her sixth in line for the scholarships; the first scholarships beginning at fourth place with$1000. Carol explained that the questions were easier for her this time than before. Her topics for the evening concerned biographies of famous Negroes, labor problems, and English questions. Carol appears for her next broadcast on February 14. This time her subjects consisted of literature, history, abbreviations, and biography.

Red and Blue 6 April 1944.
Quiz Kid is Perfect.
Last week Carol Vander Velde received a perfect score of 100,000 points on her "quiz kid" program. This is the first time anyone on the program has received this honour. States Carol, "The questions were 'tough'; I was afraid I would miss my last question and ruin my perfect score. The questions they asked me were about grammar, spelling, mathematics, and biography."

Red and Blue 21 April 1944.
Quiz Kid Appears Monday.
Carol Vander Velde, the "Quiz Kid" will appear on the quiz program for the last time on Monday, April 24. The station is WHBC Canton at 8:30 p.m. When she appeared the last time she received a perfect score of 100,000 points. The questions were about grammar and mathematics.

Red and Blue 5 May 1944.
Last Program Over; Carol Waits, Hopes.
"If the two fellows competing with me for fourth place get just a little lower next week than I did Monday night, then I'll win." Thus spoke Carol Vander Velde, Alliance High's 1944 quiz kid in a recent interview. Acquiring 75,000 points, Carol made her last appearance on the Quiz Kid programs April 24. Carol's questions covered current events, biography of McCormick, civics, and physics. "Who is the prosecuting attorney of Stark County?" stumped Carol. "I missed half the physics question - the two I got right I guessed," said Carol, who has never had physics.

Red and Blue 19 May 1944.
Vander Velde Waits to Receive Results.
Resting safely in sixth place for the local Quiz Kid's program, Carol Vander Velde now waits for further notices which may change her to fourth place. Her two opponents for fourth and fifth place are Arthur Teager and Richard Firestone. When asked how she felt she stood, Carol said, "I heard Teager and Firestone Monday night, but their time was limited on air and they couldn't finish. They both missed some questions, but I don't believe they did poorly enough to move me much farther ahead."

Red and Blue 2 June 1944.
Quiz Kid Carol Vander Velde Places Fifth; Comes Close to One Thousand Dollar Prize.
"Whew! I'm all finished! No more questions with brain-racking answers." This is the sigh of relief that came from Carol Vander Velde, Quiz Kid of Alliance High. Carol, who has been Quiz Kid since last September finished in fifth place just one step below the \$1000 prize. Each year a selected group of seniors take a competitive exam in Canton. From these, the top twenty go on radio as Quiz Kids. Carol was one of these twenty. "It's swell experience and you meet a lot of nice people," says Carol. She also believes that if more students had a chance to participate in this contest, it would stir up more interest.

Last Updated September 2020