Every few months, David Kell, the postmaster, takes a load of rocks, shells and sand mailed to his post office and dumps them back in the Volcanoes Park. Another local post office makes a weekly trip to the shore and dumps similar loads into the Pacific Ocean. According to island legend, Queen Pele is the Hawaiian volcano goddess. Each year thousands of visitors pass through Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, and many of them take home seemingly innocent souvenirs. But after long periods of bad luck, many send their ill-gotten gains to park headquarters or the post office, and ask that the items be returned to Pele.
Letters accompany the assortment of unlucky souvenirs.
In them, the writers recount tales of the hard luck they experienced because they disregarded warnings about Pele's curse. Native Hawaiians, at least some of them, are believers, and the National Park Service respects their beliefs. Rangers allow locals access to park sites for religious ceremonies. They point out, however, that while Pele may or may not be legend, federal law is real, and it is a violation to take any mineral or plant material from a national park. A suspicious package found by an employee led to the evacuation of the main post office in Norfolk, Va., May 24.