You might get to shake the hand of a future president during a campaign or maybe even be lucky enough to meet a sitting president. But one rarely expects to have the kind of unusual connection with any president that Milwaukee-area native Carl Fuldner has with Barack Obama, who is sworn in as the nation's 44 president on Tuesday, Jan. 20.

Fuldner, now living in Chicago to pursue a PhD at the University of Chicago, rents the Hyde Park apartment in which Obama lived during the late 1980s, while working as a community organizer.

About two blocks away is the storied Baskin-Robbins ice cream shop where Barack and Michelle Obama first kissed.

Presumably, they did it again at some point in that apartment.

Fuldner discovered that he lived in Obama's apartment via word of mouth and then confirmed it via an article on the Web.

As America prepares for the inauguration of its first African-American president, we asked Fuldner what it's like rinsing off in Obama's former shower.

OnMilwaukee.com: How did you come to live in Obama's former apartment?

Carl Fuldner: The answer is actually rather traumatic. This apartment is the third place I tried to rent in Hyde Park. How I lost first place isn't especially interesting. The second apartment, which is about four blocks from here, was managed by the same people that manage my current apartment. I really thought I had that one. My credit check cleared and I sent the lease and security deposit through certified mail in early August. So, I came down from Milwaukee at the beginning of September, ready to move in, and they told me they never received the lease or security deposit, they had no recollection of the agreement, and that the apartment had been rented.

The management guy I'm talking with literally looks at me and says, "Well, it sounds like you're up S**t Creek without a paddle!?" Then he says, with the glint of Chicago in his eye, "We do have one other place. It hasn't been rented for a while -- we finally got it up to code this past weekend."

At that point, most people probably would have seen the writing on the wall and looked for a different company. I went with a buddy to check the place out. As it turned out, they had just done a shoddy job retiling the roof, so the bathroom and living walls were seeping brown water. Still, at that point I wasn't left with much choice, so I signed off on it and hoped for the best.

OMC: How do you know Obama lived there?

CF: I wouldn't discover that Obama lived here until a few weeks later, when another tenant told me he had seen a picture of our building on the local news. I found a Web site that listed a bunch of Obama landmarks in Hyde Park, and sure enough, he lived in my unit. It's funny, you'd think it would have been a selling point for the apartment, but the management company never once mentioned it.

OMC: Can you tell us a bit about the place? Where is it, is it in a building, a house, on a busy street, how many rooms, etc.

CF: It's a one-bedroom in a three-story walk-up with a courtyard in front, which is pretty typical for Hyde Park. The back faces a big shopping center, with a grocery store and a few other stores. As you might expect, the area is teeming with Obama pride -- his current house is about a half mile away. Some of the stores have signed pictures of Obama in the window or behind the counter. The Walgreens next to the grocery store claims to be "Obama Merchandise Headquarters," and features new Obama paraphernalia every week.

My favorite is Wesley's Shoe Corral has a picture in their window of Michelle Obama buying a pair of shoes. You see stuff like that all over Hyde Park. People really show their pride down here, which is great.

 Page 1 of 2 (view all on one page)

Next >>

12 comments about this article. Post a comment / write a review.

Recent Talkbacks ...

Posted by NinetyFourEast on Jan. 21, 2009 at 4:01 p.m. (report)

While the article as a whole is endemic of OMC's inability to ween itself off of light-hearted, one-off, questionably newsworthy "news," the real star here is the subject. The concept ranks right up there with OMC's "Interview with a Guy Who Maybe Kinda Saw Johnny Depp Maybe While Trespassing on Set," but the guy they found here is without question a bigger gem than the story itself. His interview responses not only subtly allude to the ridiculousness of the entire enterprise, but somehow manage to simultaneously bring a charm and warmth to a story that is in danger of lacking it otherwise. If OMC insists on running stories like this, and in fairness, I understand that they are meant to be light-hearted, I surely hope that they can find characters as colorful and engaging as this gentleman.

Posted by Jerry Schuh on Jan. 20, 2009 at 9:21 p.m. (report)

This guy rules...shots all around!

Posted by Scottage Cheese on Jan. 20, 2009 at 4:54 p.m. (report)

Sandstorm....way too worked up over this story. Take it easy. Go get some mac&cheese over at Twisted Fork, if it's still open and if they still serve that.

Posted by alohamu on Jan. 20, 2009 at 2:27 p.m. (report)

Personally I think the story is cool. Being in Chicago everything is about Obama. With our other negative politics stories, Obama is a good subject with most. Since I lived in Milwaukee too, I found this very interesting. Thanks!

Posted by vantom on Jan. 20, 2009 at 2:26 p.m. (report)

You're right sandstorm, I apologize. I also don't know where to get good mac and cheese, and I'm sorry for that as well.