After hearing a speech by President Donald Trump about fortifying the Mexican border, Valerie Latona decided to build a wall of her own.

This was well after Election Day, but the story of Latona's wall starts long before.

In the campaign days, she and her husband, David Contract, were disturbed by the escalating political rhetoric and put up a lawn sign on the corner of their Westfield property that said, "love trumps hate."

"It was stolen -- gone within 24 hours," Contract said.

They made a second sign and attached it their fence. This one was cut down.

Sign number three was sprayed with black paint and shot up with an airsoft gun.

The fourth sign survived Election Day. Then it was stolen.

"We attached it to the fence with wires," she said. "Someone brought wire cutters."

Clearly, the spray paint, airsoft guns and wire cutters were evidence that this wasn't the work of random, happened-to-be-walking-by vandals.

In one incident "one of my neighbors saw a middle-aged man get out a black car," Latona said.

The couple put up a fifth sign and soon after Latona got the idea for the wall.

"It was after one of his (Trump's) 'build a wall' speeches, and I couldn't sleep," she said. "I thought, 'We're going to build our own wall. We need a wall of love.' "

On Valentine's Day, the couple sent out invitations through several social media sites for people to come and write messages of love, hope and inspiration to accompany their sign. They supplied the hearts, the markers, the hanging wire, coffee, hot chocolate and donuts.

"We went through 15 dozen," Latona said. "That's just what we bought. That doesn't include the food other people brought."

The result was more than 300 messages of love, written on red, pink, lavender and white hearts. And it's growing. People are still showing up and the couple continues to supply the hearts, markers and wire.

Drew Kellerman Escaldi, who lives a few blocks from the couple, was there Tuesday to fill out a heart and said she was "heartbroken" when the "love trumps hate" sign was torn down.

"There was no excuse for the vandalism," she said. "People in town were upset. The majority thought it was a positive, healing message. It gives us hope in a time of hatred and divisiveness."

Despite the president's, umm, inspiration, Contract and Latona said their wall of love has ascended above the muck of political rancor.

"Some people see it as anti-Trump, but most people see the positive messages," Latona said. "It is really bringing people together. It gives them a place to share ideas."

Minutes after she said this, two men stopped by to make

a

hearts, a jogger said, "love your fence" and people driving by honked and waved.

Then two young men drove by in an SUV and the passenger yelled, "Tear it down."

That errant negativity doesn't stop Latona and Contract for affirming their belief that the wall is "universal" and is simply about basic "good values," such as love thy neighbor.

"'Love is not partisan,'" Contract said. "I got that from one of the hearts."

Similar messages come from many sources, near and far. One says "East Brunswick loves Westfield." Another says "With love and support from us in the U.K."

Some are pre-school drawings. One scrawl says "Natalie loves everyone." Another scribble labels a "good guy" and a "bad guy" over two stick figures.

Others are decorated by flowers, hearts, curly designs and self-portrait caricatures, created by more sophisticated artistic hands.

The hearts that cover 15 yards of the couples' wooden slat fence are filled with slogans ... Choose Kindness. Teach Kindness. Love Bigly. Love Fiercely. America is For Lovers. The Love Corner Rules.

And Biblical passages ... "Love is patient, love is kind." - 1 Corinthians 13:4-8

And from great writers ..."Everything I know, I know because of love." - Leo Tolstoy, War and Peace

And from the truly peaceful ... "I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear." - Martin Luther King, Jr.

And those with infinite love in their hearts ... "There are no great things, only small things with great love" - Mother Teresa

And, of course, music ...

All you need is love (The Beatles).

What the world needs now is love (Dionne Warwick).

Love is a battlefield (Pat Benatar).

True enough.

Latona said a car drove by one day, and the occupants were dropping f-bombs of the usual and gay slur variety.

"I'm thinking, 'What is that all about?'" she said. "I mean if you're that upset, stop by and let's have a conversation. Don't just scream out of a car and run away."

Then, in addition to the earlier vandalism, the wall of love attracted attention from a Westfield zoning official who called Latona the day after the Valentines' lovefest.

"She said we had to take down the sign, that it was a violation of a town sign ordinance," Latona said. "I told her these were my holiday decorations."

While Westfield does have an ordinance against signs, it is clearly not enforced.

Properties within eyesight of Contract and Latona's home have contractor signs, housepainter signs and banners for Westfield High School sports teams - all common stuff in town.

"We called an attorney who told the town that enforcing the ordinance only against us was 'arbitrary and capricious' and so far we haven't gotten a violation letter," Latona said.

"I don't think the town wants to be in the position of ordering the love wall to be taken town," Contract said. "When news got out about it (via social media) hundreds of people were commenting. They were upset."

So for now, these universal messages stay on the fence, creating an en masse slogan of their own: Love it, and leave it.

Mark Di Ionno may be reached at mdiionno@starledger.com. Follow The Star-Ledger on Twitter @StarLedger and find us on Facebook.