Newton received its first wind phone on Sunday, June 7, installed on the front lawn of the First Unitarian Universalist Society in Newton (FUUSN) in West Newton Square, dedicated in a small but intimate ceremony conducted by members of FUUSN.
Wind phones are unconnected telephone booths that are equipped with either a rotary or a push-button style phone, and are intended to be used by individuals seeking to have one-way “conversations” with their loved ones who are deceased.
Unitarian Universalist minister Rev. Dr. Debra Haffner introduced the concept of wind phones to those gathered.
“I told you, a month ago, that the first wind phone was created in Japan by a man named Itaru Sasaki in 2010, for his cousin. And after the tsunami in 2011, people all over Japan went to his home in order to mourn. That’s when the idea of wind phones was born… [They] offer people a chance to speak with those they have lost,” Haffner said.
The Newton wind phone is the ninth in Massachusetts and the 410th wind phone in the United States, adding to the almost 600 total wind phones in the world. Rev. Debra described the operation of wind phones as very simply picking up the phone, dialing, and then “letting the wind take your words.”
Rev. Debra then led the group in a responsive dedication, in which those assembled responded “may the wind carry love” to each prompt given.
“For all who come remembering those they have loved and lost, may the wind carry love.”
“For the words left unsaid, and the stories still needing to be told, may the wind carry love.”
“For tears, laughter, memories, and love that endures, may the wind carry love.”
“For those that have had recent losses, may the wind carry love.”
“For those whose losses are many years old, but are still buried in their hearts, may the wind carry love.”
“For all the calls to be made on this holy ground… may the wind carry love.”
Rev. Debra symbolically made the first call on the phone to her good friend Linda Bluestein, who passed away from ovarian cancer in 2023. In an interview with Fig City News, Rev. Debra said that it was Bluestein who inspired the FUUSN team to build the phone.
“[Bluestein] learned about wind phones… She heard about the phone, and started to collect them, and put one in Connecticut. And as she was dying, I promised her that any congregation I served, we would ask the congregation if they wanted to have a wind phone,” Rev. Debra said.
Rev. Debra noted that the wind phone was quite inexpensive to build, costing only $200, which she says is well worth for the benefit of having a meaningful place for people to reach out to those who have passed on. Rev. Debra added that she hopes other communities and other parts of Newton will also consider installing wind phones, allowing as many people as possible the chance to connect.
Brian Gill, chair of the board of trustees at FUUSN, said that the phone caused him to think of his brother, who had passed away while still relatively young. He said that his role in the project was one of enthusiastic endorsement.
“We thought it sounded like a wonderful gift to the community, basically. We could put this in FUUSN in its own front yard, in a public location, where anybody who is walking past would be able to take advantage of it and have a peaceful conversation,” Gill said.
Fellow FUUSN member Barbara Bates said she was deeply moved by a FUUSN service in February in which Rev. Debra introduced the concept of the wind phone. In addition to enthusiastically supporting it, Bates even sourced the wind phone’s most crucial component.
Bates said, “We couldn’t find a wall-mounted rotary phone. Those things are, like, 50, 60 years old. They’re antiques. And it came up in conversation with a friend while we were walking, and she said, ‘Oh, I have one in my basement.’ Well, we unearthed it and brought it over.”
The structure housing the new wind phone was designed by FUUSN member Curt Lamb and built by FUUSN member Keiran Reynolds.
Bates said that her Uncle Leo will be one of the first people she will call.
