Forty-two years ago, many months pregnant, with a four-year-old tugging at her skirt, she moved here.

Bought a rambling, iconic pile on King Street when mortgages were 22 per cent. Her parents warned it would end in disaster. But she took her young family forward.

“We were blessed,” she says now, “all because of this remarkable town.”

Decades later Trisha Romance was given the inaugural ceremonial key to Niagara-on-the-Lake. It came 40 years after her first studio here opened, after her art was in 400 galleries, recognized globally and after she’d memorialized this little place. That day, she says, “made me cry.”

She paints these streets where we live because they have beauty. But it is beauty under threat.

“This is a battle worth fighting for. Our town’s heritage is quickly sliding away,” Romance says. “Bit by bit. I believe that everyone living here has a responsibility to preserve it.”

We all know the recent fights, most of them abandoned. Parliament Oak hotel. Unhosted Airbnbs on every street. The Royal George mega-build.

And suddenly, in her face, an 18-metre-tall white telecommunications tower. On the harbour. In a park. Beside a walking trail. Shadowing tony condos. In the thickest part of town.

“Certainly a cell tower on our shore will be a lasting scar,” Romance told me.

“It will be questioned by visitors long after we are gone. Those looking across from Youngstown will no longer enjoy the view of our beautiful shoreline. We will be questioned, if not laughed at. Who would put a cell tower on the very shore where the War of 1812 was fought?”

Signum Wireless, that’s who.

But this is a battle that’s now over. In a surprise statement, town spokesperson Marah Minor says: “The application to build a cell tower in Nelson Park has been withdrawn. The application is now closed and will not move forward.”

The company’s tall spike was intended to increase coverage for a minor cell service provider, and was a flashpoint since sprung on the ’hood.

There was a raucous public meeting followed by angry letters to Mr. Editor and council. Signum’s spokesguy, Lucas Cuff, cut off our conversation when I called, telling me to email my questions. I did.

Days later he had not opened or read the note. Then he ignored the next four calls. No wonder people were cheesed.

These towers are federally regulated with the local municipality engaged only in approving the land use. Normal zoning and planning restrictions do not apply. But the town has to OK any project and ultimately lease the land.

So what happened?

After all, it was a done deal. Town staff, “indicated a general level of support for utilizing Nelson Park for a telecommunications facility,” NOTL’s Kirsten McCauley wrote in a letter to Sal Badali.

He’s a director of Graystones, that niche street of condo townhomes — which (along with the King’s Point buildings) would have been ground zero for the pointy thing.

For his part, Badali was livid. “The site is in the midst of a picturesque public park which has a steady stream of walking and biking visitors daily as they pass through to the river.”

“Many people visit this park to take pictures of the beautiful scenery and water as seen from Ricardo Street. This is an integral part of NOTL to visitors. Should the tower be allowed to proceed at this location, this will be destroyed.”

Unknown (since Signum clammed up) is exactly what the tower would have looked like. The one the company built in St. Davids is an exercise in ugly. I asked the town staff for details. A timeline. Some clarity. Planner Connor MacIsaac chose not to respond. 

Why was the application abruptly nixed? Is the threat gone? Did those who oppose screwing this place up actually succeed? But how did the project become so advanced so fast? And vanish as quickly? What’s happened to transparency in this town?

Whatever. Let’s take the win.

“My heart just took a leap for joy!” says Trisha. “May I thank all of those responsible … I will consider you my lasting heroes. As citizens of this incredible town we must always be alert to changes that do not belong here! God bless Niagara-on-the-Lake!”

The romance continues.