07/20/2024
HERITAGE DAY 2024
And the Grand Marshalls for Heritage Day, 2024 are…
With Heritage Day creeping up close on July 27th, 2024, The Town of Moira Historical Association is excited to announce to everyone, that the Grand Marshalls for the 2024 Heritage Day Parade are Wanda and Danny Klebes of Brushton! Both have contributed greatly to the local community here, and we are proud to have them as our Grand Marshalls during the parade.
Everyone knows about Danny and Wanda Klebes, but what about their impact on the community?
Well, Wanda is a graduate of Brushton-Moira Central School, and has had her roots firmly planted within the community here since birth. In fact, she has lived in five different homes in the town, all on the same street, (Cemetery Street), over the course of her life! Two of the homes on the street were actually built by she and Danny, her husband of fifty-six years.
Wanda is a talented designer and decorator, often wowing her guests with her impeccable sense of style. Not only that, she is a talented writer who has written not one, not two, but three whole books! To add the cherry on top, Wanda is a captivating speaker who regularly holds Bible Studies in her home.
On the other hand, Danny Klebes is from Philadelphia, and later moved to Brushton, NY. (Though born and raised in Philadelphia, he states that the community here is so wonderful that “I would not leave Brushton-Moira for anything”.) Born to be an entertainer, his musical talent was honed from an early age. By the age of ten, he was an accomplished accordion player! Danny even played professionally with “The Barons”, an organ combo. After meeting his lovely wife, Wanda, as young adults and getting married, the “Brushton Girl”, Wanda, moved to Philadelphia, PA. In an amusing anecdote about their early marriage years, Danny mentions famous singer, Frankie Laine ,who sung hits such as “Rawhide” and “Mule Train”. At the time, Danny had caught Mr. Laine’s eye, to the point where he’d have dinner at Wanda and Danny’s $65/month apartment. He was interested in working with Danny.
After the exciting adventures of Philadelphia, the couple moved to Northern New York early on in their marriage. Here, Danny continued his career as a musician. Many readers will remember when he and Doug Yates were the entertainment often at the Crossroads in Moira. Wanda, after returning to her hometown, was a very involved stay-at-home Mom as Danny often had to travel to gigs. Upon remembering those times, Danny states that Wanda is the “Best Wife, Mom and Grandma.” Here in Northern NY, Danny taught both Social Studies and music at Holy Family for eight years. To this day, he is still involved in Music Therapy programs all over Northern New York.
When asked on what makes them proud, Wanda and Danny both refer to their children, Dan and Monica with great pride and joy, along with their grandchildren. Besides their family, Wanda is very proud of her relationship with God of more than 48 years. Danny finds his involvement with student athletes in programs such as biddy basketball as something of which he is very proud. He claims that his favorite moments are when former students stop him in stores to say “Hi, Mr.
Klebes!”. It really makes his day.
For these reasons and many more, the Town of Moira Historical Association is pleased to have Mr. and Mrs. Klebes preside over the Heritage Day Parade at 10:00 AM on Saturday, July 27th.
CONTACT US: MOIRA HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION P.O. BOX 75 MOIRA, NEW YORK 12957
