A Maier Zunder mystery

So I'm slogging through some genealogy stuff, incorporating Ancestry hints into Family Tree Maker. I've been working for a couple days on Isidore Chase.  He would be Maier Zunder's son in law as he married Sophie Zunder.  And I'm doing the usual thing, I've got one birthyear from an obituary and another from a passport application.  Which is correct?  So I start looking around. 

And I find this, looks familiar it's that picture of MZ.  And it's from a Geni (another genealogy website) tree from a Simon Goodman in UK.  An author.  Who I've never heard of.  But look closely, see the letters on the top.  That's clearly from the 'book' I produced through lulu.com.  All things MZ for family members.

So how did this guy get a copy of my lulu.com book?  That's what I want to know.  It's not a money thing; but that photo should be credited to my cousin Mal.  So I wrote him through Facebook.

I will let you know if I hear anything.

 

Storymap

I've been working on my project for my class this quarter.  Your participation level as an access student varies.  In this case, I've had this professor before and we get along great.  I'm the only access student in the class and she says that I'm welcome to be a full participant.  Yeah, I'm doing it.

The class?  Genealogical Geography

Because of my background, I have a ton of material to use.  The media they want us to use is Storymaps which is kind of like powerpoint but has more graphic and mapping capabilities.  Unfortunately, being old, it takes me longer to figure it out.  But I didn't want it to be like last fall where I tried to participate in the lab and they left me in the dust every time.  So I'm much more insistent this time.  If the prof has 'office hours,' I'm there really asking for help.  And she has been very generous.  It's coming together. 

I've got Maier Zunder and the scrapbooks, what more do you need?

This is the front of my storymap.....

Searching for Cherry Street

A map of sites important to Maier Zunder’s life.

 I mapped out the important locations in the life of my great grandfather Maier Zunder (1829-1901).  Almost all are within the historic Nine Square area of New Haven CT.  I included his houses on Cherry St and Orange St; the two locations of his business, a wholesale grocery on State Street.  Though he was one of the biggest merchants in New Haven, he also founded and served as a bank president, founded and developed and B’nai B’rith Lodge.  But the vocation nearest his heart was serving on the New Haven Board of Education during the period that public education was developed.  As the result of his service, the Board named a new elementary school (long demolished) after him.

I used a historical map, more towards his own time rather than a contemporary map.  Not only does it reflect his life and times, but it includes a very particular element.

In some early newspaper articles, his address is listed on Cherry Street.  He also lived near Germania Hall (Seattle had one); Maier was very active in the German community.

On Sept. 4, 1870, a large group assembled at Gernamia Hall on Cherry Street, in recognition of the victory in the Franco-Prussian war.  Among the speakers was Maier Zunder. (Quoted from the Register, Oct. 12, 1872) (77)[1]

But where was Cherry Street?  I had never seen a Cherry Street, searched the maps.  Then I started looking at old maps of New Haven on a Yale website.  Sure enough, when I went back far enough, I found Cherry Street, it was off State Street, crossed the railroad tracks (don’t know if they were there then) and turned into Wooster Street, a block off Wooster Square.

Now there is nothing there, bare land.  New Haven fell prey to ‘redevelopment’ in the 1960s and the city bulldozed a number of vibrant ethnic neighborhoods and replaced them with …. Nothing.

On a trip to New Haven, I talked to two people who would know about Cherry Street.  I met with Colin C., a local historical architect and entrepreneur in the Institute Library (a whole other story) and asked him about Cherry Street.  I had to throw a little green to his restaurant tour first.  He declared that there was no Cherry Street.  I showed him the old map; he was stunned.  How could there be a street in historic New Haven that he didn’t know about?  I also talked to a senior librarian (now retired) and the Colony (remember the fancy historical society).  He also declared there was no Cherry Street but he had a lot of old maps and we found it.

Colin C. was really more interested in another great great grandfather of mine, Paul Weil who owned a tavern in the Nine Squares area.  I would like to know more about him too.  The German Jewish community (mostly from Bavaria) was tremendously intermarried.  Everybody was related to everybody else three ways.  One day, he emailed me that he had found Maier Zunder’s house on Orange Street and he sent me poor quality image.  Orange Street is a major street; I had several addresses.  My genealogy teacher at that time said that they probably renumbered it; she was right.  I hit Google maps, knew where it might be and found it right away. 

Here’s a recent photo from Google maps

This is actually two town houses which have been combined together.  Maier’s house was the one on the right.  It’s all been remodeled and a three story office addition on the back.  When I was there, I asked the law firm that was there then if I could look around.  They let me go anywhere I wanted.  I didn’t pick up too much signal.

This was a very convenient location to his businesses, to the Board of Education and also to Mishkan Israel synagogue, the ‘new’ temple built in 1896 was just a block to the right.  He must have used a horse and buggy to get around but I haven’t figured out how that worked.

---

[1] Werner Hirsch, “Encyclopedia of New Haven Jews, (New Haven: unpublished, 2006) 451.  The Register quoted is the New Haven Register

The cake and the knife

Here's the cake and the cake knife.  Ann Marie made the cake; the tropical flowers go perfectly.  I worked on cutting and serving it but I never got a piece, now that I think about it.  That's how it is with weddings, you work so hard keeping all the parts together, you don't really get to participate.  Though really I have nothing to complain about, Susanna and Megan had everything figured out, I didn't have to do much.  The knife originally belonged to Maier Zunder for his daughter Delia's (my great grandmother) wedding in 1894.  We've used it at every wedding since.  We've been careful to not go awry with airport screening.  Mary Ann sent it to me separately in the mail.  Susanna sent it to Baba by the mail.  I admit, when this was over, we just put the box with the cake knife in our luggage and we got it home ok.  It was just too much trouble to figure it out.

The cornerstone

The good news...I submitted the short scrapbook paper.

The cornerstone; work has got to be done on this cornerstone.  On the old Mishkan Israel building built in 1896.  Now a magnet arts school.  They made a big deal when they laid this cornerstone.  The excerpt from the newspaper mentions what was put in the cornerstone.  Including a history of the congregations, some newspapers.  So it's history year at Mishkan Israel (New Haven).

So I ask Mary Ann, what about the cornerstone, did they ever get the stuff out of the cornerstone?  Mary Ann tells me, oh yes, she saw a newspaper article from years ago that they took the stuff from the cornerstone.  Probably when they sold the building in 1960.

So where's the stuff?  I think there's a history written by Maier Zunder.  I want it.  Or at least to look at it.  So I have my contact for the History celebration.  I'm meeting her on the first day that I'm there to see if we can see pictures of the intact stained glass before it broke and was put into the rotunda of their new place.

She's never heard of the cornerstone.  What?  How can you never have heard of the cornerstone?  OK, I do have an admission, when you crest the 20th century, my history gets real vague.  She bumped it up to the rabbi.  I cannot find the newspaper article.  Did my Genealogy Bank subscription expire?  What?  I gave them like $100.  For two years; maybe two years ago.

So, somewhere is the stuff from the cornerstone.  I'm a gonna find it.

Cotton States and Interntaional Exposition

1895 in Atlanta.

I'm back to the scrapbook again.  And I'm very pleased to say that I've made great progress today.  It's down to 1562 words; my editor said "1000 words but I'm flexible" so I'm on the right track.  It had to be re-ordered and re-focused.  Especially when you consider I started at 5300 words.  It's all making sense now.  Next step is to have Dennis look at it as I have really twisted and turned this WORD document.  Under the category 'felonious use of a spreadsheet.'

But looking through it, I picked out this postcard from the Cotton States and International Exposition held in 1895 in Atlanta.  Above it is a telegram to Mina Zunder from Maier stating "All well, stop at the Leland had fine trip"  Don't know what the Leland is.  But apparently Maier went on the trip and sent this postcard back to his wife.

Underneath it is a photograph of the midway at the Expoisition.  Apparently known for Booker Washington's Atlanta Compromise speech which I had never heard about before.  From Wikipedia.

The Atlanta Cotton States and International Exposition Speech was an address on the topic of race relations given by Booker T. Washington on September 18, 1895 at the exposition. The speech laid the foundation for the Atlanta compromise, an agreement between African-American leaders and Southern white leaders in which Southern blacks would work weekly and submit to white political rule, while Southern whites guaranteed that blacks would receive basic education and due process in law. The speech was presented before a predominantly white audience^[9] and has been recognized as one of the most important, influential, and controversial speeches in American history.

Maier - game on

Game on for first weekend of May in New Haven.  Mishkan Israel (reform congregation) is celebrating its 175th anniversary by having a history weekend.  Heck, who knows those 19th century guys better than me?  Those are my PEOPLE!  Actually, the event is being directed by a Yale PhD student whose specialty is 19th century Jewish communities so, maybe, you know, she might know a thing or two.

I've been asked to participate in a panel of descendants and talk about Maier Zunder on Saturday evening.  Of course, I would like my own session, but, what am I going to do, not go?  Of course I will go.  Dennis too.  My sister Pam wants to come.  And my partner in crime, my cousin Mary Ann, she'll come.  A keynote speaker on Friday who my sister knows.  A trip with the Sunday School to the old temple on Orange Street on Sunday morning.  Of course, I'll be there.  Maybe a trip to the Jewish Historical Society of New Haven.

We'll be going to Santa Cruz the weekend before to co-host the party.  Dennis thinks maybe we should not come home in between.  Hmmm....if I can get dog baby-sitting.

My cousin and I have a number of things on our list for 'maybe next time'.  The collector of memorabilia who might have M Zunder and Sons items.  The widow of my thrid cousin on Long Island.  The Lederer family Torah somewhere in New Jersey.  So many possibilities!

Photographing the scrapbook

My brother Charlie and my cousin Mary Ann at work photographing Maier Zunder's scrapbook in January 2013 at the Jewish Historical Society of Greater New Haven.  In the previous trip in the fall, I had realized that Maier Zunder had kept his own scrapbook by noticing the strong similarity in the handwriting labeling the items in the scrapbook and a promissory note written by Maier Zunder in the files of the New Haven Historical Society.  Plus reflecting that nobody else could really have kept them.  Previously I had made images of pages that looked interesting.  I realized that I needed a comprehensive complete set of the pages of the scrapbooks. 

So, as I do, I signed up my brother to take the photos.  I've found, in my adult life, that men like missions.  If you present a task you want done (except house projects) as a well-defined mission, they can't resist.  I did it this summer when I assigned the mission of moving Naomi to Glendale AZ to my husband Dennis.  "Your mission, should you choose to accept it is...."  In fact, I had decided that Charl was doing this and was talking about it neglecting the fact that I hadn't asked him yet.  He heard about it from my sister and daughter on a trip to Lafayette.  He called me and said "What is it that I'm supposed to do?"  I described it as strictly an in and out mission.

Also, the scrapbooks, especially the second volume was in extremely poor shape and I knew we needed to photograph it soon or nobody would know about the contents.  Marv, the archivist allowed us to do it.  We did it over a period of two or three days.  My brother set up his tripod in a certain way and my cousin Mary Ann or I would position the page with identifying post it noting the volume and page.  Afterwards Marv tied up that second volume and I knew he wasn't going to let anybody else look at it.  Eventually I prepared a paper and digital volume of the images  for the collection so that other people could use the scrapbook content.

Here they are at work.  Later I got a contact who had a lot of the Board of Education materials.  Turns out that her material was after Maier's time so I wasn't so interested.  She mentioned that she had seen us working and she wished we would photograph her material.  Doubtful I could convince my brother.  Plus Charl has a demanding new job in California.

My cousin Mary Ann is my extremely competent and clever partner in crime in all this.  Now, I'm working on purchasing plots in Mishkan Israel Cemetery.  I'm slowly working through it, with Mary Ann's assistance, of course.  We have our eye on the plot next to our great grandmother Delia (1865-1910).  We're pretty darn sure that the plot next to her was supposed to be for her husband Charles Weil.  She died relatively young; he remarried and is buried next to his second wife in another part of the ceremony.  So, who's there?  Anybody?

My genealogy group has always been so jealous in that I have all this assistance.  Not only Mary Ann but I've assigned roles to my husband, brother, other cousin.Malcolm.  So far, they always do it.  Just lucky, I guess.

Photoessay #2880 - More wedding ceremony

I included this shot because

a. it shows the lace on the back of the dress
b. Susanna (on the far right) is not cut out of the picture

These are still pictures taken from my camera.  Charlie took a bunch but he's busy and distracted in his new city and his new job.  So I dunno when I will have these.  Also don't know when I will have access to the photographer's pictures.

"The Lace" on the back of the wedding dress is the same antique (at least 120 years old) lace that was on my great grandmother Delia's wedding dress, my mother's wedding dress (I think), mine, my sister's.  Mary Ann said she got married in a white crushed velvet mini-dress (hey, it was 1969, how come I don't have pictures?).  Maybe others.

Ilana's solution was to drape it across the back of the dress.  I think it looks great there and shows when she's doing the actual ceremony.

Dennis and I have just walked Ilana down the aisle and are doing the handoff thingie.  Janine, Naomi and Susanna standing as the attendants.

In the foreground are Groom Matt's father, Matt Sr and his fiance Steph.  And just a bit of Matt's stepfather Saha head.

We totally lucked out on the weather.  Hasn't been that nice since.

Today I started my UW class, (Death offered by the anthropology department and Jackson School) and I made it.

Photoessay #2891 - Proof!

One of the few pictures I have from my talk at Fairfield University.  Taken by Dennis.  There I am in my new outfit giving my talk during one of the morning sessions.

I did it, I really did it.  I know that Ceceilia can only accept four papers for her issue but she was talking about a possible anthology.  Which might work well.

We went to the cemetery and pitched Mishkan Israel on Sunday.  Took Nick with us to the cemetery.

Spent last night in a hotel near the Hartford airport.  Took two long flights today.  But we got home, that's the most important. 

Worth it, totally worth it.

Photoessay #2876 - Connecticut Cities

This is the academic history conference that I'm presenting at next month.  My talk is in the ethnicity section.  Me with the Jew and the other people work with Caribbean immigration, Irish home rule and African American immigration.  I'm off with the other colored people.  That's ok.

My topic (who else, you must be able to guess):  Maier Zunder: Leading Citizen in 19th Century New Haven

I've been practicing and practicing it.  Today I've been looking into a 'Presentation remote'.  A clicker thing.

So, if anybody is around New England next month, please come!!!

Photoessay #2870 - My grandaughter

Repurposing a picture from my granddaughter Melina's facebook page.  I don't see her as much now that she's a teenager.  We still invite her for things which she has enjoyed in the past (museums or letterboxing).  She did go with Danny last weekend (I think).

But I thought this was a cute picture she posted of herself.  Shows some design with the diagonal placement and some tension with half being in color.  You've now reached the limit of my art analysis.

Specific information about the ASCH spring meeting is up at http://asch-cthistory.org/spring-meeting/

Check it out!  Especially Morning Concurrent Panel # 4

4)

Ethnic “Others” in Urban Connecticut

Chair and Comment: Fiona Vernal (UConn-Storrs)

Sandra Ginsburgh Barnes(U.of Washington),

"Maier Zunder: A Leading Citizen of Nineteenth-Century New Haven"
Melissa Houston(Barnum Museum),

 “The Showman and the Irish: P.T. Barnum and Home Rule”

Ann-Marie Adams(The Hartford Guardian),

“West Indian Migration to Hartford: Finding a Place, Maintaining Ties”

Photoessay #2858 - Getting Ready

I'm working on my talk for April.

More Maier Zunder.

I'm using the Public Speaking Center at UW.  It's supposed to support the Public Speaking classes.  I've gone twice already, they bumped me up to the people who are more familiar with presenting at conferences.  I've told them that I'm an access student; they haven't thrown me out yet.

Right now, I'm stumbling a bit and it's running 15-16 minutes.  I know it has to tighten up. It's still not smooth. 

I'm working on my slides.  I know the spacing on this is kinda funky but all of these M Zunder business cards are way cool.  Hmmm (used 'way cool' and 'kinda funky' in same sentence). 

I'm practicing.  Will continue to practice.  The Public Speaking Center is only open to March 11 this quarter and the beginning of spring quarter is really too late.

I probably should get it down to 12 minutes.  How?

Photoessay #2854 - Confessions of a Public Speaker

Dennis sent some post with a web-based workshop by this author.  Looked interesting but I would be in class.  I checked out his book from the library.  Very entertaining and interesting.  Lots of things to get better at.

He thinks that a catchy title is crucial.

I've decided that my title is super-boring

Maier Zunder: A leading Citizen of Nineteenth Century New Haven

There are a lot of ways I can go with this talk.  I'm situated in a race/ethnicity session.  Nope, the Jews aren't white.  I can frame Maier where he really was.  An outsider.  An immigrant.  A foreigner.  A Jew.  A German.  I remember when I first pitched this to professor in my certificate program.  He said "You could talk about antisemitism in New England."  Even early on, I knew this narrative didn't fit.  Zunder's story was about accomplishment in  his new home.  Building a business and a family.  Founding organizations; the Board of Education.

Agency is his story.  As I often have to remind myself, I don't really know this man.  But for him, I don't think he hesitated, I don't think he believed he couldn't do something.  He just went out and did it.  His many talents and insights helped him to do it.

That word Citizen also defines the arc of his life.  He was committed to New Haven, his city.  He was not a stranger.  This was his city.

I can also bring the scrapbooks in.  Actually I can do whatever I want.

OK, back to where I started.  The public speaking book.  It's humorous and engaging.  About preparation (Practice!), the lighting (chandeliers?  yuck!) and how to manage your audience.  He brings up the situation of a very large room with very few people.  How that drains all of the energy.  He strongly suggests getting people to move closer, nearer to each other.  He points out that the audience members may feel like losers for coming to your talk.  He suggests converting them to 'losers with friends,.'  He also points out that they are now your losers so you need to do something with them.

Please let me know if you can think of a better title.

Photoessay #2852 - Party!

Why not have a Maier Zunder party!

I will be doing a presentation at the Spring meeting of the Association for the Study of Connecticut History in April.

I have several third cousins who I've never met coming; how fun is that?

See, I already know my two cousins on my mother's side.  My grandmother was an only child so no second cousins.  Third cousins are all I got.

I was talking about this with a friend today over lunch.  She suggested we should have a get-together afterwards for all the new rellies to get to know each other.

So far, I have Ken B. from New Jersey and Rabbi Jon from Baltimore says his sister and daughter are coming. Plus my husband and my cousin Mary Ann.  I hope my cousin Mal will come.  I'm working on my sibs.  And the archivist from the Jewish Historical Society is coming. 

See, it's a party!

Photoessay #2922 - Wedding Cake Knife

My cousin sent me the special wedding cake knife by mail.  She didn't want to risk taking it on the plane.

We know that this knife has been used for wedding cakes certainly since our great grandmother Delia's wedding in 1894.  My grandmother Regina (Delia's only child) used it, also my mother and aunt used it.  I used it as well as my siblings.  My cousin's daughter Kristin used it at her wedding.

Danny and Jessica will use it later this month.

The marking says "Meriden Cutlery" and 1855.  Meriden CT was known for it's cutlery and silverware and is close to New Haven.  I'm pretty sure the 1855 is the year it was made.  So Maier must have purchased it early on.  Delia was his youngest daughter, so it was likely used by her older brothers and sisters.  Maybe.  We don't know.

Purple and silver are the wedding colors.  My cousin Mary Ann decorated it before she sent it.\

Photoessay #2898 - Sophie and the scrapbook

The Sophie I refer to was Sophie Zunder Chase, my great grandmother's sister.  Their father Maier, wrote this note to Sophie on her 38th birthday in 1898 and it ended up in his scrapbook.  It took my student Teri, her father in Germany plus Werner Hirsch from New Haven to figure out a translation.  My intention is to also use this to get the attention of my rabbi third cousin descended from her who has not gotten in touch with me.  Dangle the goods can work, I find.

I'm just about done with the facsimiles from volume 2 of the scrapbooks.  This was the one that was in horrible shape; the archivist wrapped it up after we used it and I don't think they'll let people look at it.  But Charl and I photographed every page.  Plus I have translations for all of the pieces in German.  So now, I can have it copied and sent to the archivist at the Jewish Historical Society of Greater New Haven for somebody else to use.

I'm feeling good about the paper right...I think it will go.

Here's the translations:

So bringe ich dir meine Glückwünsche  dar

          So I bring you my congratulations

O Mögenst du leben noch so manches Jahr

          Oh may you live for many a year

Probire nur und sei immer  munter

          Just try to always be cheerful

Hielt se recht wie eine Zunder

          Hold it like a tinder

In dein Heim sei eine Mutter Chase

          In your home be a Mother Chase

Es wird dich dann bewahren vor allen bös

It will then keep you from everything bad.

Ihre Vater

          Your father,

M Zunder

Photoessay #2848 - Bits of Maier

Sometimes, I search and search in google finding some more material on Maier Zunder or pictures of Zunder School or, this evening, of Fuerth in Bavaria.

Forgetting that I have probably the best information right by me.  The scrapbooks that he kept from 1870-1900.  I have images of all of the pages (thanks to my brother and cousin)  I'm writing about it and doing data work on it.  It's going to be good and somewhat unique.  If I ever get it done; I've been working on it this week.

There's not much of his own writing but there's tons of newspaper articles of him addressing groups in German or English.

The more personal parts are later in his life.  I'm going to divide the scrapbook in three parts, though I don't have the titles.

This looks like a note he wrote to his daughter Sophie, maybe on occassion of her birthday?  She's 38 and Maier himself is 69.  My translator can't make it out.  She sent it to her father in Germany who was going to show it to a 90 year old friend who knew the old letters.

It's all here for me, I just have to put it together.

Photoessay #2839 - Start of Maier Zunder scrapbook article

My professor of my first class as an Access Student last summer, would say "OK, here we GO, here we GO!" when he started to introduce something that he thought was really important.

So, here we go, time to start drafting my next paper "Maier Zunder's Scrapbooks."  Of course, it challenges me big time but I bring with me the confidence that I did it once (publish a paper in peer-reviewed journal) so I can do it again.

The first paper "Prayer in the Schools: "The 1877-78 Devotional Exercise Controversy in New Haven," appeared in the Fall 2012 issue of Connecticut History.  I recognized it as a sweet story right away, a great narrative arc, colorful drama, Maier Zunder a leading character, and nobody had written about it.  As I've said before, I wasn't part of the Connecticut history community, no academic appointment or prior academic publication.  Just some lady from Washington State writing about her Grandpa - the kiss of death.  But the gods smiled on me because, unbeknownst to me, the editor was preparing a special issue "Religion and Politics in Connecticut History."  I hit it just perfect.

This topic does have chronology as far as proceeding through the years in the scrapbook.  At the end of my October trip, I realized that the writing in the scrapbook matched the handwriting on a Promissory Note that Maier Zunder wrote regarding a loan to secure the cemetery property for Mishkan Israel.  Which meant that Maier Zunder kept this scrapbook himself.

Who else would have kept it?  The null hypothesis has some real value.

The Zunder family scrapbooks cover four volumes but I'm just interested in the first 1 1/2 volumes.  My brother came with me in January and we photographed all of the pages.

So I have the whole thing.  Not having a database application (and why not???), I built an excel spreadsheet of all the items.

167 pages containing 359 items.  300 items in English, 59 items in German.

I haven't found too many articles about specific scrapbooks but I have enough sources to bring in some academic issues.  Don't know if I can tackle intertext but cultural capital, categorization and mirroring, scrapbooks as open source, material manifestations of memory, look doable.  Also Linda K. Millers use of two scientific terms, spline and asymptotic could work.  As well as Pearce's view of scrapbooks as objects, physical landscapes and narratives.  I can't use all of these, but given an effort, I can use one of these approaches.

Did I mention that I LOVE having UW library access as an Access student?

Nineteenth century scrapbookers often repurposed other books as their foundations.  Maier Zunder used a ledger book for alcoholic beverage dealers for hist first volume.  This book held up a LOT better than the blank book he used for his second volume.

Notice the ledger format and the title at the top "Daily Record of Spirits purchased or received, and sold or delivered."

Here we go....

Photoessay #2823 - Note to Sophie

In case any of you thought I had forgotten about my second great grandfather Maier Zunder, no such luck.

I'm working on my collection of images of the scrapbook pages.  I've gotten them numbered and printed out.  I have logged them into an excel spreadsheet (lacking a database, why is that?).  As always, cleanup of data takes a large chunk of time.

Maier kept these scrapbooks himself, 2 volumes covering 1870-1900.  179 pages with 359 items.

59 are in German, the rest English
273 are newspaper articles

They reflected his interest in the Board of Education, B'nai B'rith, Order of True Sisters, Mishkan Israel (especially building the new temple) as well as the naming of Zunder School.

He also includes, especially in later years, items regarding his own family and social activities (including the weddings of his children)

Many articles quote him directly. but there's not much of his own writing but there is this note to Sophie (written on her birthday?).  I'm waiting for my translator to get done with finals and start translating again!  I want her to run up my bill big time!