Feel the love

From diamonds to pork, locals share best Valentine’s gifts

With Valentine’s Day right around the corner, many residents are hitting local shops to find that perfect gift. We took to the streets to find out some of the best gifts that residents have received or given to a loved one on that special day.

St. Charles Parish Sheriff Greg Champagne said Valentine’s Day is a memorable holiday for he and his wife, Alice…but in a mixed way.

“We got engaged on Valentine’s day 30 years ago,” he said. “I was in law school at LSU and made reservations at a ritzy restaurant in Baton Rouge to pop the question. We got to the restaurant and it was very crowded.

“The owner was overwhelmed with his ‘regular’ customers, seating them as they came in, and we had to wait almost two hours to be seated despite our reservation.”

After being completely aggravated, Champagne said he gave Alice her engagement ring.

“We now joke about it and are still married for almost 30 years now, so I guess it didn’t affect us,” he said.

While none of the other residents interviewed got engaged on Valentine’s Day, they still look forward to the holiday each year.

Villa Roseross said the best gift she ever received was when her fiance cleaned the house and cooked her a nice dinner. As for the best gift she ever gave, Roseross has a simple answer.

“Myself is the best gift,” she said.

Linda Baxa said that her husband always sends beautiful roses, but that she was surprised one Valentine’s Day.

“He got me a really beautiful diamond necklace, and he doesn’t give a lot of jewelry,” she said.

Baxa added that she always gives her children candy and once got her husband a gift certificate to a golf course.

The best gift that Blaine Oncale ever received was a black Labrador named Blackie. The best present he has ever given to his wife is a Chamilia necklace.

Natalie Catoire plans on cooking dinner for her special someone this Valentine’s Day and is hopeful that she will receive chocolates and Coach shoes.

Michelle Landry usually gets roses and will also be hitting the kitchen to cook dinner for two at her house.

Staying with the food motif, Heidi Girardot said that one year her in-laws gave everyone pork tenderloins for Valentine’s Day.

“I don’t mean they cooked them for dinner, they gave each of their five children some pork,” she said. “They were delicious.”

But sometimes gifts don’t have to cost a thing.

The best Valentine’s Day present Shay Posey ever received was when she got her son Justin’s birth certificate in the mail.