EAST HELENA — There has been an outpouring of emotion in the greater Helena community after what appears to be the intentional destruction of a memorial installation in JFK Park in East Helena.
Bridgett Tielking lost her 25-year-old son, Samuel, to a drunk driver on February 22, 2017. She said he was there for everyone.
"I have five kids and he's my oldest son. He died just after his 25th birthday," she said.
Years after the loss, Tielking has continued to struggle with closure, but then she heard about Telephone of the Wind.
"This phone is an outlet for those who have messages that they wish to share with their lost friends and loved ones. It's a phone for memories and sharing the goodbyes that you didn't get to say."
Tielking and her father worked together to have the memorial placed in the park last August, making important memories in the process.
"My dad passed away February 23rd of this year, so it was the last thing we actually got to do together," she said.
Bridgett and her dad worked hard to get approval to get the memorial up in Kennedy Park, having to get the East Helena City Council on board.
"Everybody thought it'd be a nice thing to have to provide some people some peace," said East Helena Mayor Kelly Harris.
Over the weekend, the telephone monument to Samuel was destroyed.
Like much of the community, Harris was disappointed but ready to help.
"Just needless. No reason for it. Sure hope we can find a way to get this back up and not have that behavior continue," he said.
Steve Utick of Rocky Mountain Laser Arts donated his time when the memorial was first put together. When he found out it had been destroyed, he reached out to Bridgett to let her know he was more than willing to help get it replaced.
"I was really surprised by the number of people that had used it and had gotten some peace and some closure out of it. So I think it's a really good thing for the community and hoping we can get it back up here fairly soon," Utick said.
Bridgett is now focusing on the positive that the telephone has given to other people and making sure they can get solace.
