BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) – In 2010, garden designer Itaru Sasaki of Japan installed a telephone booth in his garden that he called a “phone of the wind.” The rotary phone line was not connected to anything, but the booth gave Sasaki a meaningful place to have a one-way conversation with his cousin, who had died of cancer.
The following year, an earthquake and tsunami devastated Japan, killing nearly 20,000 people. Sasaki opened up his booth to the public, and thousands have visited since to “call” their loved ones on the other side.
”Wind phones” have caught on around the world, including in Vermont. In Hyde Park, Lanpher Memorial Library director Amy Olsen was inspired to propose adding a wind phone outside the library.
Seven Days’ Eva Sollberger visited the wind phone and spoke to organizers and community members about it.