New ‘Wind Telephone’ booth in Boise offers healing space for those grieving loved ones
Boise now has a unique healing room that gives residents a quiet way to connect with departed loved ones.
In the Boise Foothills, next to the Veteran Trail, the recently installed Healing Wind Telephone booth offers a peaceful haven where people can express their feelings and find solace during their time of loss.
Inspired by an internet story, Mary Jane Marlow brought the concept of a wind phone to Boise.
WATCH: See how the neighborhood is being healed by the recently installed healing wind phone booth.
Visitors can learn the origin of the original idea from the plaque on the booth, which reads:
A man named Sasaki Itaru invented the first wind phone in 2011 in Iwate Prefecture, northeast of Otsuchi, Japan. In order to communicate symbolically with his recently deceased cousin, he constructed a telephone booth in his Bell Gardia yard. Sasaki urged folks to come and use the wind phone to stay in touch with their departed loved ones after the March 11, 2011, tsunami struck this area. The wind carried their voices upward, crossing the gap between life and death.
Additionally, the plaque states that it is dedicated to Navy World War II veteran Jack Vernon Caldwell of the USS Honolulu.
Her goal was to provide a space where members of the Treasure Valley community could go to grieve and heal.
“And I walked in the door and this nice gentle man said ‘come on in and I love the idea,'” Marlow recalled.
Marlow eventually received assistance from Jake Faulkner, Director of the Idaho State Veterans Cemetery, after being turned down by many cemeteries. Faulkner put in countless hours to help make this idea a reality, juggling it with his full-time work and additional assistance from his kid.
“As a veteran myself, you know, it’s kind of hard to find the right time and space to, to kind of think and grieve over some of your friends and family that you’ve lost,” Faulkner stated.
Because of its proximity to the Veteran Trail, the booth is a great place for runners and hikers to pause during their training and think, allowing them to let go of pent-up feelings.
“You can’t really vocalize what you want to get off your chest and this provides an opportunity to do that, in private,” Faulkner stated.
The way the community has embraced the wind telephone is a clear indication of its significance. Visitors are shown the importance of the booth by the frequent tending of the flowers surrounding it.
“It is written on the walls there, you know. The impact it’s making and the variety of people it’s touching are shown in the comment cards. “Faulkner said.”
Marlow wants to bring comfort to many people in the Treasure Valley by spreading this therapeutic idea throughout the region.
“We will improve people’s feelings on death and conversation. There is a lot of talking about the past and what happened to them. For me, that’s sufficient,” Marlow remarked.
Before entering the cemetery, turn right down the gravel road, cross the irrigation canal, and continue up N Dry Creek Cemetery Road to the booth. This will take you to the Veterans Trailhead parking lot where the booth is located.
