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!
Jennifer J. Cannon 