Spiritual connection: Calling out to the other side

COEUR d'ALENE — If you could pick up the phone and call a loved one who has died, who would you call? What would you say?

The Telephone of the Wind can help those experiencing grief reconnect with their loved ones, if only for a few moments, and speak aloud those goodbyes that were never able to be said.

"For someone, especially when someone's gone, your mom’s gone, your dad’s gone, whoever you’re missing, it’s like a way of grabbing onto them again," Pancho Edler of Post Falls said Thursday evening.

Edler's son, Chase, was only 20 when he was in a fatal skateboarding accident.

“I talk to him a lot. That was in 2006, but this is so clever," Edler said. "It’s more of a tool, like a gardening tool, but it’s a spiritual tool where you can hold onto it and go, ‘Chase, how you been man? I know you’re watching over me now,’ as I watched over him. That’s what I would be saying to him."

The Inland Northwest's first Telephone of the Wind was unveiled during an open house at Hospice of North Idaho. The black rotary telephone, with a "1951" stamp, is housed beneath a wooden arbor in a white and turquoise telephone booth handmade by Hospice of North Idaho Executive Director Eric Ladwig, who was a cabinet maker before he became a nurse.

It was named in memory of Mary Ann Smith by her family. Smith passed away Nov. 21, 2023, at the Schneidmiller Hospice House.

"Our director gave them a tour and showed them different naming opportunities and they said, 'Yes, that aligns with our loved one and what she would have enjoyed,'" said Hospice of North Idaho communications specialist Megan Ryan.

The wood and windows come from the old prairie barn that stood in Post Falls for more than 100 years. The metal roof is siding that came from an old schoolhouse in Latah, Wash. The colors represent the original Telephone of the Wind made by a gardener in Japan after his cousin died. It was opened to the public after the March 11, 2011, earthquake and tsunami when about 18,500 people were killed or went missing.

Ryan discovered the concept of the Telephone of the Wind when she saw a few online videos and caught a "CBS Sunday Morning" segment on one that was installed in western Washington. 

“I thought, ‘Wow, this would be so impactful to have at Hospice of North Idaho, especially on our campus and open to the community,’” she said.

She said she hopes it inspires more to be installed in the area to bring comfort to more people.

“This would just be one way they’re physically able to do something and use this as a grief tool," she said.

The Hospice of North Idaho's Telephone of the Wind is on the west side of its campus. It's accessible to the public, located along a paved pathway that leads to a serene sanctuary where the wind creates a soothing sound as it rustles and rushes through surrounding trees and foliage.

"This area connects you to your spirit and those spirits that are close to you," said Karen Thornburg of Coeur d'Alene, who attended the open house and tour. "That's just what it is. I think everybody feels the connection with energy, emotion, and this is how you can get in touch with your spirit, for sure."

Info: thetelephoneofthewind.com

    The new Telephone of the Wind was unveiled Thursday at Hospice of North Idaho. While not attached to a live phone line, the rotary phone serves as a tool to help those experiencing grief share messages and goodbyes with loved ones who have died.