Saying goodbye: Stark Parks offers 'wind phone' at Quail Hollow for grieving people

LAKE TWP. – Like many others, Daria Sherman has endured the heavy burden of loss. So has Matt Frey.

"I miss my child," Sherman said.

In 2011, Sherman's 19-year-old son Paul was killed in an explosion in Bolivar. Her son-in-law, also Frey's brother-in-law, Christopher Rohr died unexpectedly last August.

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Together with Stark Parks, the two repurposed their heartbreak to create a place for all who mourn to hopefully find closure. Now available at the 700-acre Quail Hollow Park is a wind phone. It can be found on the all-purpose trail.

"When you don't get to say goodbye to someone, those thoughts and emotions are with you," said Sherman, a Jackson Township psychologist and author who specializes in stress and loss.

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The wind phone — inspired by one in Japan — is inside a wooden booth built by Frey. The old-fashioned red phone isn't "connected" to an outside line, meaning people don't dial out and it doesn't receive calls. Instead, it allows a person to have a one-way conversation with a deceased loved one.

It is dedicated to Paul Sherman and Christopher Rohr.

"This gives someone an access point to have that conservation so they can start living again," Sherman said.

What is a wind phone?

The concept of a wind phone started in 2010 when a man named Saski Itaru built a phone booth in his hilltop garden. It was to help him grieve the death of his cousin.

Itaru opened the booth to others after the 2011 earthquake and tsunami that destroyed more than 100,000 buildings, triggered a nuclear disaster and killed almost 16,000 people.

Now, it has become a spiritual place for thousands of people annually who make the trek to the garden and phone booth. Itaru and his booth have become a model for several others across the world.

For example, there is a wind phone in Aspen Mountain, in Woodlands, Texas, and Merritt Island in Florida. And now, Stark County has one.

Frey said he would love to install a couple more in the area.

"I love the open concept because it gives the wind the ability to come through the booth and pick up your message and carry it on," he said Tuesday.

'This has touched my heart.'

Stark Parks announced the wind phone on Facebook in a May 29 post, which drew more than 60 responses and 550 shares. All of the responses were positive and grateful for the project.

Among those who responded on Facebook included Chris Steigerwald of North Lawrence. "This has touched my heart in so many ways. I can think of many that I'd love to talk to again...," she said.

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Justin Crawford, an education specialist at Stark Parks, said Sherman's proposal was brought to their attention through the Friends of Stark Parks, and the agency was fully supportive of the concept.

"Any opportunity Stark Parks can be involved in mental health is an opportunity we are going to integrate into any of the parks," Crawford said, noting the the Mindfulness Walk at Petros Park.

Crawford said they chose Quail Hollow for the phone because, "it is one of the parks that we really get a sense of seclusion," offering a person the serenity and comfort needed to say goodbye.

Later, it was learned Sherman and her son frequently hiked Quail Hollow.

"I'm grateful to Stark Parks," Sherman said.

Crawford said people will not find signage on the all-purpose trail for the wind phone — by design — because they want people to find it naturally.

"We've all had our own struggles with grief and loss and everyone deals with it in their own ways," Crawford said. "I think overall (this) is going to make a positive impact. I think it does help people get that feeling of a proper goodbye."

'It's what people need right now.'

More than a million people have died in the U.S. from COVID-19 since the outbreak started in early 2020. More than 1,700 of those deaths occurred in Stark County.

Sherman said it can be difficult to shoulder all those emotions.

She said the wind phone is just another tool to help people release those emotions and find solace.

"It's what people need right now," Sherman said.

Crawford added: "A lot of people out there really are struggling about not being able to say goodbye. I think it's a really great concept and I believe it's going to do the community good."

Reach Benjamin Duer at 330-580-8567 or ben.duer@cantonrep.com

Follow on Twitter @bduerREP

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Stark Parks installs wind phone to help people mourning a loss