Olympia: Four miles from Olympia, the capital of Washington state, sits a vintage rotary phone in the middle of a quiet forest.

It is not connected to a telephone line and looks out of place. But speaking out for lost loved ones has become a de facto lifeline for people; Words that he never got a chance to say while he was alive.

Corey Dembeck, 41, built and installed the original wind phone in Squaxin Park in the Pacific Northwest in late 2020 after learning about the death of his family friend’s four-year-old daughter. It was inspired by the original wind phone installed ten years earlier in Ōtsuchi, Iwate Prefecture, Japan.

“One morning, I woke up and went downstairs, and my wife was shocked. She was like ‘Joel has died,’ says Dembeck. He has since moved away from Olympia but remains in contact with the Sylvester family, whose young daughter Joel Rose died suddenly of a sore throat that led to sepsis in her body. “It bugged me, so I was like right then, I’m going to build one of these things for them.”

Dembeck, a US Army veteran who worked as a photojournalist from 2000-2005, brought phones, supplies and equipment to the city-owned park and set it up in a quiet area off a trail by an old-growth pine tree. added up.

Standing by the phone nearly three years later, Dembeck says his reasoning for sneaking the phone into the park was that it was better to apologize than to ask permission, especially since it was going to be something that was difficult to explain.

When people found out about the phone and began seeing it in larger numbers, the city decided to make it an official installation, removing it from the tree and working with Dembeck to create a signage board and a monument to Joel. made a plaque

The plaque reads: “This phone is for everyone who has ever lost a loved one. The phone is an outlet for those who have messages they want to share with their friends and family. It is for the memories.” And there’s the phone to say goodbye you never got to say.

‘I need an outlet’

During a recent afternoon, Joel’s family met by phone to celebrate his life. Joel’s mother, Erin Sylvester, said that they sometimes have pizza parties and invite friends to attend.

“I want a phone. I want an outlet. Because it’s dedicated to my daughter, I think it’s different than having someone else come and use it,” says Sylvester, 34, tears welling up in her eyes Are. “Not being able to hear his voice on the other end of that phone can be very frightening. So, I usually come in when none of my other coping mechanisms are working and I’m looking for a last ditch effort.

Joel’s brothers, Jayden, 12, and Jonah, 8, and his sister, Joy, 5, take turns speaking into the handset, telling him how much they love and miss him, and posting new Put up pictures and love it. over the phone.

During their visit, a brown and white spotted owl perched on a branch of a pine tree, just above the phone. The family is charmed. Erin says that the owl was Joel’s “baby theme” when he was born, and that the same type of owl had recently visited him in a similar way, but in a different location.

“It has to be a sign. There’s no other way I can think of it… It’s not a joke,” says Andre Sylvester, Joel’s 37-year-old father, wiping tears from his eyes.

Moments later he picks up the phone to speak to his late daughter. “Miss you. Thanks for showing up today. I miss you so much.” says Sylvester, looking at the branch where the owl had been sitting moments before. “I wish we could go for a walk around the block while I smoke my cigars and say hello to you all, and you pet every dog. I lost that.”

Since Olympia’s telephone was established, word of it has inspired other Americans to build them across the country. Dembeck has spoken by email and phone with several others who have set up a phone in honor of their loved ones and he estimates there are now 50 across the United States.

Dembeck says that everyone who confronts him about using his phone also tells him a sad backstory.

“The fact that something as simple as this helped him so much is really heartwarming,” he says.