Courtesy Burien Parks, Recreation and Cultural Services
Thanks to local citizens Amy Hance-Brancati and Greg Brancati, Seahurst Park now has its own “Telephone of the Wind,” an outlet for those who wish to “talk” with deceased friends and family.
It’s “a phone for memories and saying goodbyes you never got to say.”
This special vintage rotary phone, sited along a beautiful and secluded trail just above the Marine Technology Lab at the north end of the park, is for those who have lost a loved one. Just pick the phone up, dial if you wish, and talk to your lose loved one.
The original Telephone of the Wind was created in Japan in 2010 by garden designer Itaru Sasaki. According to Sasaki, the “wind phone” was designed as a way to reflect on the loss of a loved one. In an interview, he stated:
“Because my thoughts couldn’t be relayed over a regular phone line, I wanted them to be carried on the wind.”
In 2011, the devastating Tōhoku tsunami caused the deaths of more than 15,000 people in Japan. Sasaki subsequently opened his wind phone to the public to allow visitors to call their friends and family who had died in the disaster. Wind telephones have since become popular inspiring replicas around the world as well as books and films. You can learn more about the Telephone of the Wind here:
https://thetelephoneofthewind.com/
Amy and Greg were inspired to create the Telephone of the Wind after visiting Squaxin Park in Olympia. This project was something they felt they could do to support their community and honor the death of their son, Lewis Brancati, in 2017. Their unique creation was installed on Saturday, Aug. 19, 2023, and is dedicated to his memory.
What a beautiful, beautiful memorial to their beautiful son Lewis. Amy and Greg this is such a wonderful way to memorialize Lewis, a sweet young man whom I will never forget. I am truly touched
Amy and Greg, I’m so sorry to read that your son Lewis’ died. There can be no greater pain than losing a child.
This is a beautiful Telephone of the Wind
(Wind Phone);it will help so many who grieve. I have a website that I keep in memory and honor of my 25-year-old daughter Emily who died April 2,2020. It’s http://www.mywindphone.com – on the site I have a locator tool for people to find a Wind Phone closest to them, photos of over the 130+ Wind Phones that I’ve been able to identify and the full history of them. Please join the My Wind Phone Facebook group and follow on IG @mywindphone
Thank you to the B Town staff for helping to bring awareness to Wind Phones.