As tragic as the seemingly senseless killing is of a well-liked camper on a pond in midcoast Maine, it’s also sadly ironic.
Decades ago, when Rockland’s de-facto mayor John Lohnes bought Mic Mac Campground, it became news central for the small town of Union, Maine.
Maine state troopers like longtimer Glendon Sturtevant would stop for a break and to chat with Lohnes, who was a fountain of information.
His knowledge was cop gold.
In the old days Mic Mac was a place where cops came to get information, also known as qualified gossip, not to investigate a nearby homicide.
But late on July 16, state police arrested a Mic Mac teenage camper along the shores of Crawford Pond in the killing of paddle-boarder Stewart “Sunny” Sunshine, 47, of Tenants Harbor.
The fallout from the murder has shaken the core of what was once a safe go-to midcoast campground.
Lohnes, who was the area terminal manager for Fox & Ginn Trucking Co., upgraded the campground 50 years ago.
He built Mic Mac Market on the property in 1979.
At first it had supplies the campers could buy, then he expanded it with a full-serve lunch counter.
That’s when the troopers found a nice quiet, friendly place to grab a bite to eat – and pick the fertile mind of John Lohnes.
Lohnes In those days was chairman of the Rockland city council, effectively the mayor.
He drove 18-wheelers full time and started the Mic Mac business as a side hustle that he ran with his wife.
Lohnes knew everything that was going on in Knox County – both good and bad.
On his lunch break while driving the truck, Lohnes would park his tractor trailer on Route 1 in Rockland in front of Ye Olde Coffee Shop.
As he sat in the driver’s seat smoking a cigarette, he’d chat with friends as they stood on the front porch of the coffee shop.
The Mic Mac grounds had campers and also a few log cabins that folks could rent.
Lohnes was not only a great conversationalist, he was also an excellent businessman.
Like King Midas, he ended up tapping into a fresh-water source on the grounds near the market, which fronted on Route 17, and sold and distributed bottled water for years.
He and his wife Ninon Lohnes lived on the grounds and then ended up building a large house there.
Years later, they ended up selling everything and moved offsite.
As facts emerge in the events leading up to and following Stewart’s homicide, the history of the place where both she and her accused killer likely crossed paths offers a flashback to a seemingly more innocent and carefree era.
