It was a serendipitous moment when I saw a post on Threads last Friday from my editor at Business Insider asking if anyone collected pennies. I knew the last penny had been minted in Philadelphia the day before. And then I remembered my own collection, inherited from my grandparents. I sent her a message and ended up sending the essay later that day. I’d just had another piece, about being a grandma and also having kids in college go live a few days prior.
An interesting tidbit that was edited out of the penny piece involves this anecdote:
One night in the mid-80s, a group of teenagers came into the coffee shop in Running Springs, California, where I worked the 3 p.m. to 11 p.m. shift, at 10:45 p.m. They wanted milkshakes, and I’d already cleaned the machine. I told them we don’t usually make shakes that late, but I’d make an exception for them. I was also intimidated and wanted to show them kindness that most people in town didn’t.
I was a teenager myself at the time and so, waiting on kids my own age was always a little intimidating. These kids in particular, happened to be from the infamous, and now defunct, CEDU “school” for troubled teens. In the mid-80s the population of Running Springs was around 3,000 and everyone in town referred to the kids who would occasionally be allowed to leave the grounds as the “CEDU kids.” I don’t think anyone knew back then what a horrific place it was.
Rachel Uchitel spent time at CEDU and talks about her experience on her Miss Understood with Rachel podcast. Netflix’s limited series, Wayward is apparently inspired by CEDU. I’ll be watching and curious to see if they filmed in my home town of Running Springs.
Thanks as always for reading– Oh–and hope you find a lucky penny today!
It was the thrill of a lifetime to write for Town & Country Magazine about a family secret that, while fascinating, left a trail of heartache and betrayal in its wake. This time 64-years-ago my colorful (and like the perpetrators of the Louvre heist– handsome), Armenian grandfather was the ringleader in robberies of two prominent homes in Beverly Hills and Bel Air, California. It was one of the biggest jewel heists in Los Angeles history. The approximately $320,000 worth of stolen gems would be worth millions today.
Town & Country October 2025
Los Angeles Times April 1962
“The recovery of the gems was a culmination of one of the largest investigations ever conducted by the West Los Angeles and Beverly Hills police,” wrote Dan Tomkins for the LA Independent in May of 1962.
A significant portion of the jewels have never been found.
I’ve been working on a novel inspired by real events in the life of my grandfather and my experiences growing up with him.
You can still find this article in the October issue of Town & Country online and in print at Barnes & Noble.
Jennifer J. Cannon 