Celia and Ed lived together for several months. Ed bought her an engagement ring. They were soon married and lived together in a furnished room. Celia had a job at the nearby Ostrander Company and earned twelve dollars a week. Ed worked at a garage and brought home thirty dollars a week. They were very happy but did not save any money. Ed kept insisting that Celia buy herself some nice clothes.
A short time later, Celia was pregnant. Ed promised her that they would get a real home for the baby. How did he plan to do this? The job he held did not pay very much but it had some perks. Ed borrowed one of his boss's cars once in a while. Ed worked as a welder at the garage and managed to make some phony license plates to mislead the police. Ed also managed to get some guns and he and Celia would "practice" their hold-ups before doing the real thing. They started by holding up neighborhood stores. Due to her hairstyle, Celia became known as the "Bobbed Haired Bandit".
It didn't take long for the couple to realize that this money would not last very long so they took off for Florida where they were captured soon after the death of their daughter.
The newspapers loved Celia. Journalists were fascinated with her because of her poor childhood and she made the perfect story for magazines.
What becomes of Celia and Ed Cooney?
You don't have to read very much of this book to get engrossed in the story. I think, for me, it happened on page one - I was hooked. The authors do a wonderful job in telling the story of these two outlaws. It is very obvious that they spent a great deal of time doing research for this book. The book includes many photographs of the couple. The authors do an excellent job of portraying Celia's personality and it really comes through. I have never heard of Celia and Ed Cooney - I don't know why but I'm sure glad this book was written. This is a must book to add to your reading list. It is fast paced, never gets boring and takes the reader on one wild ride!