Jenny Hogan installed a rotary phone at Elva Rouse Park near Vinoy Park in St. Petersburg. People walking by can pick up the receiver and share stories or whatever’s on their mind. She calls it “Leave a Message After the Tone.”
The phone records audio. Hogan picks certain voicemails and posts them on Stories of Humanity social media pages. Sometimes she puts a sign next to the phone with a question or theme.
Hogan launched the Stories of Humanity Instagram page almost a year ago. It shows people and their stories from around town.
“I recognized that with the people that I was meeting, they had such deep and beautiful stories that they were sharing with me and I wanted a way to encapsulate some of these stories and showcase some of the stories with my love of documentation and storytelling,” she said to FOX 13 News. “Being a therapist myself, I absolutely love humans and the mosaic of stories that come to create who they are as a human.”
The phone solves a problem Hogan saw. Not everyone wants to appear on video for the page.
“I wanted there to be a way that people could share little tidbits about their life or deep stories about themselves in a way that felt more private and kind of honored maybe that boundary that they have for themselves and also a way to kind of capture the little moments, you know, as somebody is walking through the park and reflecting on their life or reflecting on that day to where we can encapsulate some of those moments,” Hogan said.
The idea brings back communication from before texting took over. Back then, reaching someone meant picking up the phone and leaving a voicemail.