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Two Battle Creek-area coaches — one a relative newcomer from
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to an old dilemma.
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58
FRIDAY, MARCH 30, 1990
Something In Common
M
ake no mistake:
Gary Lincoln, the
relative newcomer
at Harbor Creek, and Dan
Stulberg, the veteran from
Marshall, love the lives
they're living and where
they're living them.
For starters, there are the
bucolic, small-town at-
mosphere and friendly people
of western Michigan, sans the
nerve-fraying problems of the
big city. Second, both of the
Battle Creek-area basketball
coaches this season guided
their teams to the district
finals of the Michigan state
high school tournaments —
Lincoln in his first year as
head coach.
"We have groves of pine
trees" on 10 acres of land, en-
thuses Lincoln, a Detroit
native married to a girl from
New York City. "It's just an
idyllic setting. I don't know
that I'd ever want to move."
What puts a different spin
on the proverbial ball,
however, is the fact both
coaches are Jews in a typical-
ly Christian rural setting —
there are only about 50
Jewish families in the whole
area. What they encounter
most often are prayers men-
tioning Jesus at public
meetings and ham served at
public dinners — not anti-
Semitism, both men agree,
just ignorance that not
everyone is Christian.
It's a fact of life to which the
two coaches have become ac-
customed, to one degree or
another.
Lincoln, an all-city guard
on the Detroit Henry Ford
High School basketball team
in 1967, and Stulberg, a Mar-
shall native and two-year
starter who graduated there
in 1970, take different ap-
proaches to the situation,
with Lincoln the more
outspoken. Stulberg is sup-
portive of his colleague's
efforts.
"I would not say there are
undertones of anti-Semitism
in a community like this,"
says Lincoln. "It's a very
tolerant community, as far as
differences are concerned.
"A lot of times," he says,
people in western Michigan,
when they give a prayer, it is
just second nature to them to
add the words, 'in the name of
Jesus. "
"
Lincoln, wife Gigi and children Geoff, Ruth and Ben.
Lincoln recalls a teachers'
meeting just prior to his first
year on board at Harbor
Creek. The meeting began
with a prayer in the name of
Christ. Lincoln did not say
anything that year, but when
the scene was repeated the
following year, he objected.
"In the superintendent's
address, he started talking
about how the school board
has a new set of by-laws, a
philosophy of education. He
read it to us and it said how
there's no discrimination on
race, creed, religion, and all of
that. And when we took a
break, I went up to him and
I said, 'How does that jive
with a prayer?' "
The next year, the
superintendent picked Lin-
coln as speaker. Instead of a
prayer, recalls Lincoln, "I
talked about how people
should be aware of individual
differences. And after that,
there weren't any Christian
prayers. So we did something,
gained a couple of inches
there.
"And there's no longer just
ham as a choice at school
board lunches. Little things
like that.
"If you don't say anything,
it just continues to go on. It's
because people just don't
realize it. If anything, I sup-
pose, by being here I've not
only contributed to the com-
munity, but we've added a lit-
tle bit; we've educated some
people. And they're nice peo-
ple."
Stulberg, on the other hand,
grew up in Marshall and is
used to the unthinking at-
titude of some residents.
"Growing up as one of the
only Jewish families in a
small town, it had a type of ef-
fect," Stulberg says, "kind of
`carrying the banner' of the
religion in terms of people
who didn't know any Jews. It
was part of our responsibility
to always put our best foot for-
ward. As far as it relates to
my coaching position now, I
don't know if it has any affect.
I don't think it comes into
play."
Stulberg takes a more con-
ciliatory line with issues such
as public prayer.
"Generally," says Stulberg,
"I realize it's nothing that's
being done consciously. It's a
matter of their not realizing
who is present and what it
means. I usually let it run off
my back and don't take it per-
sonally. Unless I feel they're
doing something offensive.
"I would support the things
Gary has done regarding
prayers," Stulberg says, "but
probably am less likely to do
what he has done."
The Jewish community is
served by one synagogue,
Temple beth El in Battle
Creek. Services are held
every two weeks, usually led
by a student-rabbi from
Hebrew Union College in
Cincinnati.
"It's basically a Reform ser-
vice, but somewhat Conser-
vative," says Lincoln. There is
also a regular children's Sun-
day school led by volunteers
including Lincoln's wife Gigi.
"The Jewish community
here is always a very strong
community," he says. "We
have people who have come
from outside Battle Creek to
work and live here and they