The longtime owner of a beloved West Allis tavern needs some support right now and his friends and family are reaching out to provide it.
Jon Cervantes has owned Jonny Hammers, 6300 W. Lincoln Ave., for 25 years, providing fun, beer, a passion for the Grateful Dead and some of the best wings in town.
According to an email from Daniel Rowe, Cervantes, 61, was diagnosed with stage four metastatic prostate cancer in January.
In order to provide some assistance in a time of need, a Go Fund Me with a goal of raising $5,000 to help Cervantes has been set up – you can donate here – and a fundraising event is also on tap to help cover the growing medical bills.
Bowling for Hammer takes place Saturday, July 17, at noon, at New Berlin Bowl, 16000 W. Cleveland Ave.
Admission is free and you’ll be able to bowl three lines – including shoes – for $20 ($10 for kids), plus there will be raffles and giveaways. Then at 5 p.m., the event moves to Tommy Amann’s bar, 8824 W. Becher St., for more raffles and drinks specials.
Email bowlingforhammer@yahoo.com to register.
Follow this Facebook page to get updates.
“(Jon) has been in the hospital and out of work since hearing that devastating news,” according to the fundraising page. “All who know Jon know him for his generous heart and care for his community. One of his many hats is being the founder and president of the East Allis Neighborhood Association, which is a group of residents who work together to make their neighborhood a better place to live. As you can imagine, this has not only impacted Jon, but also his wife Marie, his daughter Danielle, his parents and countless other family and friends’ lives.”
The organizers are hoping to raise enough to meet their $5,000 goal, plus some more to donate to Prostate Cancer Foundation for continued research.
“Our goal is to share Jon’s story. We are not only raising money but also raising awareness about prostate cancer. With ongoing chemotherapy treatments, Jon still has a long road ahead towards his recovery. We are asking you to please consider donating towards his fight. Help us help him!”
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.
He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press.
With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.
He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.
In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.
He has be heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.
