Unsolved mailbox mystery sparks curiosity and happiness in neighborhood
Don Powell doesn't have fairies at the bottom of his garden, but he does have dolls at the end of his driveway.
When he had a unique custom-made mailbox installed by a local craftsman in Orchard Lake, Michigan, he thought it would be a neighborhood curiosity. But within weeks, the mailbox had become host to a magical mystery thanks to two small dolls that Don discovered when collecting his mail.
"Amongst the pizza coupons and other circulars and a couple of letters, there are these two dolls sitting there on what you might call a love seat," says Powell. "They're made out of wood, so they're somewhat elaborate in nature. And there was a little note on a sticky note that said, 'We decided to make this our home, Shelly and Mary.'"
Watch the video to see the mailbox that became a mystery dollhouse.
Don and his wife had no idea where the dolls came from. And despite inquiring around his neighborhood and online, the donor remained anonymous. But whoever made the dolls wasn't content with just donating the two of them, as, pretty soon, they began adding to the collection.
"There was a painting. There was a rug that was placed on the floor. There was a little service dog, a little Labradoodle, added," says Powell. "Over Halloween, Mary and Shelly left town and were replaced by two scary skeletons sitting on the loveseat. [Then] over Christmas time, the skeletons were gone. Mary and Shelly were back, but there was a Christmas tree and a plethora of presents that were neatly wrapped sitting under the Christmas tree."
Don was so intrigued by the figures and their mailbox home that he began writing about them online, creating a backstory for the dolls that generated huge interest.
"It's certainly captured people's imaginations," he says. "I think the major reason is that it's just something that's very positive and uplifting. There's so much negativity in the news that people just look for something that's light and helps make them laugh."
Despite the attention that the dolls are getting, the person who made them has yet to come forward, so their identity may remain a mystery forever. If so, then Don says he's fine with that. The dolls have brought a lot of joy and positivity to people across the country, and he doesn't feel the need to put a name to their owner's kindness.
"This is just interesting for my wife and I to go get our mail and never knowing what might be in the mailbox," he says. "They have provided something that's added to my wife and myself's lives [and] thousands of other people who are following the story of Mary and Shelly."
Humankind from Paste BN tells uplifting stories about kindness, triumphs, and special relationships. We wouldn't be able to show the world all this kindness if it weren't for people like you who capture kind moments on camera!
If you have a video, photo, or even a story you want to share, click the link below to tell us all about it. Someone from the Humankind team will reach out to you if we want to do a story about your kind moment.
Not sure what kind of content to submit? Check us out on any of these social media platforms and take a look around! We cover all sorts of good news moments about humans, animals, members of the U.S. military, kind kids, sportsmanship on and off the field, and more!
And if you’d like a weekly dose of good news in your inbox, we invite you to subscribe to our newsletter for a healthy helping of positive, touching, and inspirational stories.
There's enough bad news out there! Help us show the world how much good news we have all around us.
