The grieving process is long and difficult and at some point after the loss of a loved one, most people reach the point where they just wish they could have one last conversation with the deceased.
Debbie Travis, assistant director of the Clinton Township Senior Center, believes the new wind phone, which is expected to be installed and operational by August 21, will help people cope with grief by allowing them to talk about their feelings.
“The idea fits so well with our center and all the things we do,” Travis said. “It’s a therapeutic way to process grief.”
“Pick up this phone and your message will be sent where you want it.”
The project is a collaboration between Dignity Memorial, Lowe’s Store 1716 in Clinton Township and the Senior Center officials. Lowe’s has designated the wind phone and recent improvements to the bocce courts as the Lowe’s Hometown Community Project. Dignity Memorial sponsored the purchase of the phone, bench and commemorative plaques that will be displayed in the pergola.
Resurrection Cemetery sponsors a grief support group that meets at the Senior Center, and the idea for the wind phone came in part from that group.
Lowe’s built the 8×8 pergola with three slatted sides, with the south side open and looking out into the woods. There will be a natural bench inside the pergola and the red rotary phone itself will be housed in a custom-built box designed to look like a British phone booth.
A wood-chip-lined path leads from the sidewalk to the pergola, which is located just west of the center’s bocce courts.
There will be signs explaining the purpose of the wind phone and its use.
“We want to create a very sacred space, a place where people can go to process their feelings,” Travis said. “Maybe there’s something you haven’t been able to say to that person. Maybe you just want to tell them you miss them, or you’re angry and you want to tell them that too.”
The concept of the wind phone originated in Japan, where Itaru Sasaki developed a “wind phone” in 2010 while mourning the loss of his cousin from cancer. He bought an old-fashioned phone booth and placed it in his garden, where he installed an outdated rotary dial phone that was not connected to a network.
Sasaki said the wind phone helped him heal and feel close to his deceased cousin.
“So the idea came out of someone’s grief,” Travis said. “He developed this grief therapy and it became a success.”
The Wind Phone gives those who keep their feelings to themselves a chance to express them and find closure or simply recognize the possibility of intangible planes of existence.
There are currently 186 wind phones in the United States, 87 internationally, and 15 “coming soon,” including the location at the Clinton Township Senior Center.
The Clinton Township Board of Directors approved the installation of the wind phone at its August 12 meeting.
“When I first heard about it, I didn’t know what it was,” said Clinton Township Supervisor Bob Cannon. “But once I understood it, I liked it.”
Fran Badalamente, a member of the steering committee, said this “hotline” to relatives was welcome.
“It’s a nice idea and an asset to our center. It’s a great help for people who are experiencing grief,” said Badalamente. “They feel like they can communicate in a way that’s tailored to them personally.”
Trustee Julie Matuzak pointed out that the wind phone is a much more environmentally friendly way to communicate with a deceased loved one than releasing balloons or lighting lanterns.
“They’re really bad for the environment,” Matuzak said. “Animals eat the balloons and wires get tangled on farmland. So this is the same concept, but more personal because you’re talking on the phone, and at the same time more environmentally friendly.”
