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Eric Bunnell's People: A phone line for grief, carried on the wind

St. Thomas’s new wind phone gives mourners a symbolic way to connect with lost loved ones

Heaven isn’t long distance anymore.

A wind phone approved in February by St. Thomas city council has been installed in the serene Memory Garden at Pinafore Park and awaits its first users.

Eric Bunnell's People: A phone line for grief, carried on the wind Back to video

It’s a disconnected dial telephone that invites people to pick up the handset and voice their emotions as they grieve the loss of a loved one.

It’s housed in a small kiosk that has been placed in the garden’s waterfall overlook.

A sign at the base of the classic black desktop phone greets: “Welcome to a place where love is remembered, memories are cherished, and silence is understood.”

It suggests, “Pick up the receiver and take a moment to speak from your heart. Here, words need no destination. They may be spoken into the breeze, carried by the wind, mingled with the song of the waterfall, and held among the flowers that bloom in remembrance.”

While the city isn’t monitoring its use, the wind phone has been well-received.

“I did have a lady call three or four days after it was installed, saying what a great idea it is,” says Todd Sawyer, supervisor of parks and forestry.

“’Thank you so much for installing this.’”

Council was backgrounded in February that wind phones were invented by a Japanese man as a way to grieve the death of a family member.

Local Journalism Initiative reporter Joe Koncecy picked up that story.

The $3,500 project was inspired by St. Thomas resident Erin Marshall, who reached out to council recently on behalf of a family friend who lost a loved one and whose child started asking questions about death and dying, he reported.

“’Some of his questions have been expected, and others, less so,” Marshall said in her communication to council.

“’One that has stayed with me: he asked his mom if he’ll be able to call grandpa once he’s in heaven . . . to talk to him about starting hockey, and let him know how school is going.’”

The telephone’s kiosk, supported by metal vines, mimics the........

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