In 2010, garden designer Itaru Sasaki of Japan installed a telephone booth in his garden that he called a "phone of the wind." The rotary phone line was not connected to anything, but the booth gave Sasaki a meaningful place to have a one-way conversation with his cousin, who had died of cancer.

The following year, an earthquake and tsunami devastated Japan, killing nearly 20,000 people. Sasaki opened his booth to the public, and thousands have since visited to "call" their loved ones, their words carried on the wind to the other side.

"Wind phones" have caught on around the globe, including in Vermont. In Hyde Park, Lanpher Memorial Library director Amy Olsen was inspired to add a wind phone outside the library after reading the children's book The Phone Booth in Mr. Hirota's Garden. It was installed in fall 2022, with grant funding from the Vermont Department of Libraries and the federal Institute of Museum and Library Services. The cozy space contains a rotary phone with a heart in the center of the dial.

In her latest episode of "Stuck in Vermont," Seven Days senior multimedia producer Eva Sollberger visited the wind phone and spoke to organizers and community members about it. Kate Donnally of Hyde Park — a therapist and former state rep — was one of the early users of the phone, at times visiting daily to help work through a mental health crisis. Emily Neilsen of Johnson has also spent time in the booth, processing anxieties related to last summer's flood and calling two late loved ones: her dog Klauss and her grandmother.

Sollberger spoke with Seven Days about filming the episode.

How did you hear about the wind phone?

I heard about the original wind phone in Japan in a "This American Life" episode from 2020. It's a very moving piece about the inventor of the wind phone and the grief and devastation in his coastal town of Ōsuchi after the tsunami. The town lost 10 percent of its population, and hundreds of people were missing. It's hard to imagine how these families recovered from such intense, sudden loss. The wind phone played a part in that recovery process.

Amy Olsen sent Seven Days an email last fall about the wind phone in Hyde Park. It's fitting that the librarian was inspired by a children's book. The wind phone is a private space, and at first Olsen and I weren't sure if anyone would volunteer to be in a video about it.

But you were able to make a video work.

Yes. I am so grateful to everyone for sharing their experiences with the wind phone on camera. It takes a lot of bravery and vulnerability to open up about these intimate moments. I was impressed by all the different uses for the wind phone. Traditionally, it's a place to call lost loved ones, but it can also be a space to work out anxieties or significant life changes. After the pandemic and its reverberations, I think we all have a lot of grief to work through. May is Mental Health Awareness Month, so it's an appropriate time to shed light on the wind phone.

Did you make any calls?

I called my grandma Margaret. She has been dead for almost 20 years, and most of our conversations when she was alive were over the phone. So it felt very familiar, holding a receiver and talking to her. As I said in the video, I could almost hear her scratchy voice on the line, asking me if I had a pie in the oven. Even though it was only me talking, it felt like she was there. And I realized that I should be calling her more often. There aren't any wind phones in my town yet, but I could just give her a call from my backyard to say hello.

You filmed in Hyde Park, which is close to your hometown.

I grew up in Johnson, and I love driving on Route 15 in Lamoille County. I'm always reminded of my childhood. This was my first time visiting Johnson since the flood. Its residents have been through a lot, and it's so sad to see that they still don't have a grocery store since Sterling Market flooded.

What kind of role does the library play in Hyde Park?

Olsen said the village of Hyde Park has been compared to Stars Hollow, the fictional town in "Gilmore Girls" that is full of quirky people. I can totally see that comparison. As I have said in these pages before, I love libraries, and the Lanpher feels really welcoming. It would fit right in at Stars Hollow. Olsen is the beating heart of the library, and you can tell that the library is essential to the town. As a comforting space for people to work through complex emotions, the wind phone has also become essential.