Reba McEntire photo by Russ Harrington, courtesy of the Valory Music Co.

You’ve probably heard of the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre, a 1929 shooting spree that saw seven people killed in a gruesome, crime-gang related incident in Chicago. You’ve definitely heard of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, a whole series of horror films that has more in common with Halloween than Feb. 14.

Reba McEntire once managed to unwittingly tie those two massacres together with an inventive gift to her husband that was… uhm… unusual, to say the least.

It was Valentine’s Day 1989, their first observance of the occasion as a couple. Narvel Blackstock gave her a diamond tennis bracelet. Reba gift-wrapped something for him that was, she thought, a little more practical.

“We had just bought our place out in Gallatin, [Tenn.]” she says. “We were tryin’ to clear it. He said, ‘Well, I can do that!’ And so I got him a chainsaw for Valentine’s Day.”

Give Narvel credit. He cranked up the saw and dove right into landscaping the property.

For a bit.

“The chain was on backwards, and he worked all day long tryin’ to trim up some of the low branches,” she remembers. “His shoulders and arm and neck were just killin’ him. The next day , he hired professional people to come and clear the property.”

Being their first Valentine’s Day, and knowing he (pardon the pun) massacred his muscles, it’s a holiday that they’ll always remember. Mostly.

“I don’t know where that chainsaw is today,” Reba beams, “but I still got my tennis bracelet!”

Check out Reba’s “Guide To Romance” and other tips from stars including Blake Shelton, Rascal Flatts, Brad Paisley and more in our celebration of Valentine’s Day!

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