Lehigh County’s Office of Aging and Adult Services celebrated recently with its 23rd annual tribute to Unsung Heroes at Fellowship Community, Whitehall Township.

The presentations were made by Clayton Reed Jr., executive director of the Office of Aging and Adult Services, Lehigh County Executive Phillips Armstrong and Secretary of Pennsylvania Department of Aging Jason Kavulich.

According to information provided by the Office of Aging and Adult Services, Robert Schantz, of Lower Macungie Township, was one of 18 Lehigh County residents and a group of nine people honored as part of the tribute.

This tribute, in honor of Older Americans Month, celebrates older adults in the Lehigh Valley who have displayed exceptional generosity with their time and talents to enrich the lives of others in the community.

During this annual recognition ceremony, each honoree received a certificate from Lehigh County Aging and Adult Services, a certificate from the Pennsylvania Department of Aging, and citations from their local legislators.

They also received a book on the history of Lehigh County, an Unsung Hero pin, an Unsung Hero yard sign and flowers.

According to his tribute written by the Rev. Dr. David Charles Smith of Jordan United Church of Christ, Robert, “Bob,” “Chump the Clown” Schantz is a lifetime member of Jordan United Church of Christ, a proverbial “Jordanite.”

“Our church celebrates 271 years of ministry in 2023 at the same location, and Robert’s family goes back nine generations to our founder, Lorentz Guth - some of you thought I’d say Jesus, didn’t you?

“He and his wife Cheryl have continued to serve our church and the community in so many ways across the years, but in particular, today we want to highlight his commitment to preserving our rich traditions and history and helping new and younger generations appreciate the past and how it informs our present realities.

“Bob is a gifted artist and is retired from a wonderful career in teaching in the Bethlehem School District.

“His talent is experienced in numerous places throughout the church but is never more evident than in our annual Festival of the Harvest Home, a long-standing practice at Jordan, typically held on a Sunday morning in late September.

“Robert and the team, which he assembles every year, create a beautiful display in the chancel area of the sanctuary, in front of the altar and often in the Narthex. Each year includes a theme along with items that help illustrate and highlight the theme, locally grown produce and a generous collection of canned goods and nonperishable items for the closest food bank housed at our neighboring church in Orefield.

“The Harvest Home Festival allows us to gain a greater appreciation for the goodness of our creator, the God who provides so bountifully and is Lord of the Harvest.

“Jordan was, for generations, a rural church, and this is one of the ways we continue to recall our roots, pun intended, as those who learned to depend on the goodness of God to get them through another winter with the reserves of the harvest season.

“Robert is deeply committed to honoring the Pennsylvania German heritage so many of us in our region share. His late uncle was a speaker at Grundsau Lodges in years past, and Bob has been involved in a local lodge, Number 16 on the Jordan, which includes a Groundhog Day early morning event at Wehr’s Dam. Bob would often don a top hat and through a Groundhog puppet, Yahdee, assist with the weather prediction for the early start or delay of spring. His record, though, wasn’t all that great!’

“Recently, with the closure of Zion, the Liberty Bell Church, United Church of Christ in Allentown, Robert was instrumental in securing a legacy gift of Zion’s spectacular Fontanini crèche, and designed the display at Jordan.

“It brought tears to the eyes of those who came from Zion to worship with us at Jordan to see that a piece of their rich history would remain in a vibrant sister church, who was served by the same pastor, the Rev. Abraham Blummer, during the Revolutionary War.

“Although a recent disability has prevented appearances as Chump, Robert’s clowning has brought joy and laughter to countless people of all ages at our annual Community Easter Egg Hunt, Summer Festival and so on. He still does balloon sculptures, which are personalized, one-of-a-kind and delight the hearts of those who receive them.

“Robert and Cheryl still care for his mother, Betty, a resident at Cedarbrook Senior Care and Rehabilitation, who could not be prouder of her son.

“Our church and community are blessed by all he has done and continues to do for others, and today we pause to introduce you to another Unsung Hero.”