Oct. 15, 2002 – A small, select group of Frenchtown food and beverage establishments is getting together to do a big thing on Oct. 26.
That evening, from 4:30 to 9 p.m., they are holding a benefit for one of their own, the fellow behind the smiling face at Alexander's Café for the last 17 years, Jerry Snyder. With a bit of imagination, a lot of food and drink and some Puerto Rican oom-pah-pah, Alexander's, Hook, Line and Sinker restaurant, Epernay wine bar and the Tuscan Grill are throwing a mini-Oktoberfest for Snyder.
The Frenchtown parking lot fronting the restaurants will be transformed into a virtual German beer hall for the evening, minus the racket and the giant steins — and, come to think of it, the roof.
Snyder, the manager of Alexander's, has been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. He doubts with that diagnosis, but something is definitely wrong. The normally genial host gets around the restaurant now only by determination and the help of his staff. "They've been wonderful, so supportive," he said on Monday.
It's not easy for him to walk every day now, let alone greet people with a smile and tend to their needs when he is having trouble tending to his own. When he was recovering from a bout of pneumonia about nine months ago and lost his speech, his doctor told him that he was suffering from a brain tumor, a stroke or MS. He went to a neurologist, who confirmed the MS diagnosis, but Snyder didn't then and doesn't now agree with that opinion.
Since then he has seen a chiropractor, and for the past several months he has been seeing physical therapist Gary Rosenthal and acupuncturist Dr. Mae Trieu, "who have been wonderful and really helped," he said.
Snyder arrived on island 25 years ago by a familiar route. He was working on a boat which stopped at St. Thomas, "and I fell in love with the island."
He has his reasons for questioning the MS diagnosis. "For one thing, I have deteriorated too rapidly," he said. "Some days, I can hardly walk, talk or function." He said MS usually affects one part of the body at a time, rather than making an overall assault. He believes he may be suffering from a spinal disorder. "I am hoping against hope," he said. "I don't feel it's MS; I feel there's something else there."
Next Monday, he'll be traveling to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, to go to a neurological center. His mother lives in the area and he'll be staying with her. "It's driving her crazy worrying about me," he said. "It breaks my heart. She shouldn't have to be making these doctor's appointments." He'll be making the trip with the younger brother he cares for.
"It was a surprise," he said. "Eula Hymes took one look at me a few weeks ago and almost cried. She asked me what was wrong, and when I told her, she said she would get airline tickets for my brother and me."
Snyder's health insurance coverage expired earlier this year and he was unable to renew it because of his condition, which is what the Frenchtown benefit is all about. "It's overwhelming, how people are helping me," he said.
Alexander Treml, owner of Alexander's Café, said plans are still being finalized for the event. Chef Daniela Miller, from Epernay and the Tuscan Grill, will be preparing Hungarian goulash with homemade spaetzle. Alexander's Café is going to grill sausages and offer pretzels. Ted Luscz said Hook, Line and Sinker will serve mini-pork chops and sauerkraut.
Tickets will be sold for the food items; with three, you will get a bottle of Beck's beer. As for the oom-pah-pah Puerto Ricans, come hear for yourself. A Puerto Rican band will be there, and Treml is determined that they will play beer hall music. For further fund raising, there will be a raffle with prizes including meals, excursions and vacations. Treml said the prizes are still coming in.
The Jerry Snyder Fund is being set up at Banco Popular, and contributions may be sent directly there once it's in place. Meantime, Treml said, donations, marked for the fund, may be sent to Alexander's Café. The address is 24-A Honduras, St. Thomas VI 00802.
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