KANSAS CITY, Mo. — For 26 years now, Laurie and Kevin Horton have welcomed any and all Kansas City Police Department officers to their home for Christmas dinner.
Laurie has a neon "OPEN" sign that turns on starting at 2 p.m. on Christmas. It started when Laurie realized the officers needed a place to go for the holiday dinner.
"Their holiday meal was a hot dog from QuikTrip and that’s it," Laurie said. "It broke our hearts. And Kevin said, 'No, that doesn’t work for us, you need to come here.'"
It's become a tradition for almost all of the officers, including Officer Jose Madera.
"It’s just nice to know that when we’re out answering calls for service and when we’re with the community that we can take a little bit of time away from there and stop in, and grab a quick bite to eat," Ofc. Madera said. "She’s like a mother to all of us."
Laurie never had kids of her own, but considers each one of them her children.
"Anytime anybody asks us if we have children, we say, 'Yeah, about 12-hundred,'" Laurie said.
She said she feels like the richest woman in the world to be able to do this for them.
"You come in, you’re gonna get hugged, you’re gonna get told that you’re loved," Laurie said. "You’re going to be able to be who you are in a safe atmosphere because they love talking to each other, they like visiting, they like catching up."
Laurie knows just how tough the job can be, so she said she's willing to stay open well into the evening to make sure everyone gets a plate and a hug for Christmas.
"They make us incredibly proud of what it is they do and who it is they are," Laurie said.
KSHB 41 reporter Caroline Hogan covers development across the Kansas City area. Share your story idea with Caroline.
