I  much enjoy hearing the stories of the Mansion residents as my portrait project on the residents continues. This week, I interviewed Peggie Osgood. She will be 80 next August and has been at the Mansion for seven years, one of the residents’ longest tenures.

After Hurricane Irene struck and overflowed the Hoosick River, she found herself in six feet of water just before her son and some neighbors rescued her. Fortunately, she lived next to a fire company, the only thing that saved her life.

She lost everything, there is nothing left of her house, even the foundation was bulldozed and covered over. She went briefly to one assisted care facility but had to share a room with someone else to transfer to the Mansion, where she has her own space.

Her husband of 40 years had died just a few years earlier from liver cancer.

He worked at a shoe factory in Hoosick Falls, she worked stitching underwear and then in a hospital, bringing food to patients. She has some trouble walking and is seeking an electric motor cart so she can drive through town.

Peggie is a significant presence at the Mansion, honest, outspoken, busy. She is a master whiz at word and crossword puzzles. She has a laptop the Army Of Good got for her and players games and e-mails her children.

She loves painting and using clay.

She has a wicked smile, loves her lifelike baby doll, and wants me to get summer clothes for her. She misses her dog very much. She had to give him away when she moved and doesn’t know if he is alive or not.

She would love to get letters. Her address is Peggie Osgood, The Mansion, 11 S. Mansion Avenue, Cambridge, N.Y., 12816.

Thanks for your comments about the portrait project. It is so important to bring these faces to life and let them know that the world outside knows they are here and very much alive.