Featured Wind Phone in Boise, Idaho

Amy Dawson
1 day ago
3 min read

Updated: 4 hours ago

Each Wind Phone has a unique story, and the people who create and care for them are the ones who can tell those stories best. Most Featured Wind Phone posts share a creator or steward’s responses to interview questions in their own words. This feature is a little different. Mary Jane Marlow, the creator of this Wind Phone wrote a beautiful reflection about the Wind Phone she created in Boise, Idaho, and I’m honored to share her words here. Sharing these stories helps us connect, heal, and may inspire someone else to create or visit a Wind Phone.

Sending you love on the wind,

~Amy 💙

The Wind Phone on the Ridges to Rivers Trail

Boise, Idaho

By: Mary Jane Marlow

Nestled under native Elm trees adjacent to undulating foothills covered with native grasses and shrubs, awaits the passerby of the opportunity to speak to their loved ones who have passed. The Healing Winds Telephone is a cozy structure that looks like an old telephone booth!

In the spring of 2022 while looking online, a story of the first “Phone of the Wind” popped up on the screen. In Otsuchi, Japan in 2010 a Gardner designer, Itaru Sasaki was mourning the loss of his cousin and needed a place to release his grief. He set up and old-fashioned phone booth in his garden with an unconnected rotary phone inside.

“Because my thoughts could not be relayed over a regular phone line, I wanted them to be carried by the wind”, he said in a documentary by Japan’s public broadcaster, NHK. When the tsunami came in 2011, he invited and opened up his booth to people who had lost loved ones in the tragic tsunami.

Boom! This idea struck me at my core. I said, “I can build one too”. And “Healing Winds Telephone” was born and the project unfolded perfectly. I hired a designer to create a design that was simple, well-constructed, and not representing any religion, etc. A presentation booklet was created to present to cemeteries, (which I thought was the best place to begin). I was off and running.

After three or four presentations to cemeteries and parks departments, one sunny day in September 2024, I walked unannounced into the Idaho State Veterans Cemetery in Boise. I asked to see the person in charge, if he/she were available. Within five minutes Jake Faulkner, Idaho State Veterans Cemeteries Bureau Chief, asked me into his office.

I began my presentation. Five minutes later Jake said, “I Love this”! I was dumb founded and so pleased. The project began in earnest finishing in June 2025. Build it and they will come! Thank you for visiting the Healing Winds Telephone Booth.

Featured Wind Phone Questions

Where is your Wind Phone located?

You will find the location and directions to this Wind Phone at Find Wind Phones Locations Worldwide | My Wind Phone Map

To Find the Wind Phone - "from W. Hill Rd. Pkwy turn onto N. Dry Creek Cemetery Rd. Cross the canal and enter into Veterans Trailhead #114 where you'll see a parking area. The wind phone can be seen from the parking area about 200 yards up the trail."

What year and month did you place your Wind Phone at this location?

June 2025

Is your Wind Phone dedicated to or in memory of someone special?

In loving memory of Jack Vernon Caldwell, USS Navy WWII (ship - the Honolulu).

Do you have any advice for someone thinking of creating a Wind Phone?

Mary offers these thoughtful questions for anyone considering creating a Wind Phone.

1. Where do they want to place/build it? Who owns the property? How to ask for permission to build it?

2. Who will maintain it?

3. What do they want it to look like, i.e. an enclosure, an outdoor unit w/no or little protection from the elements?

4. A physical design/drawings is best if they are planning to ask a: county, city, parks department, etc. If going to these places, it's best to have a proposal w/background on Wind Phones.

\I'd love to feature your phone!

You can find all the information here to submit your Wind Phone.

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Please Note: Visiting a Wind Phone location is at your own risk. We (My Wind Phone) cannot and do not assume any responsibility for your visit. See our Terms and Conditions.

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