Characters of the Village

Hellen And Harvey Osgood—Community Activists

By Joy and Brian Pape

Hellen (with two l’s) and Harvey Osgood are community activists and would be the first to tell you that they were influenced by their good friend Doris Diether.

“Doris made me feel like there was a possibility in making everything better. She never gave up. She was always in for a fight for the good, for the better,” Hellen said. “She was a very strong, loving, outspoken, caring woman, and I just adored her.”

The Osgoods live on Ninth Street near Washington Square Park, and Harvey and Hellen love to hang out there. They soon became friends with many of the park regulars, especially with the musicians playing ‘golden oldies.’

One week after her retirement from the MTA as a maintenance superintendent in 2019, Hellen began coming to Doris’ apartment every evening to prepare her meals. Hellen, with Elissa Paskin and Erin Rogers, became Team Doris until Doris died in Sept. 2021.

Harvey has a master’s degree in engineering and worked for several firms and agencies in New York City, including the MTA. During his last 13 years at the MTA, Harvey worked on several elevator and escalator projects where Hellen was also assigned, so they were business colleagues. They had such a good working relationship, they learned to trust one another in an environment that’s hard to trust. But it was not until after Harvey’s retirement in 2002 that he ‘ran into’ Hellen at a subway station where she was working at the time. To them, it was more the hand of fate than a chance meeting. It was her 44th birthday. He invited her out to dinner to celebrate at Arté Restaurant, 21 East Ninth Street.

Harvey asked her, “Is this dinner, or a date?” They immediately found the conversation turning to serious relationship topics. Both are native New Yorkers. Harvey is Jewish, born in Brooklyn, an atheist and Hellen is Danish and Jamaican, born in Manhattan and Christian. Hellen’s educational background is multifaceted and at one time she trained as a nurse. They each had been married with children before they retired. His concept of the necessary trinity of elements for good relationships are mutual respect, trust, and needs. She is non-confrontational, yet intolerant of nonsense.

They share a love of being together and meet each other’s needs extremely well. They can tell you precisely how many weeks and days they have been together, and since that time, have never had an argument or disagreement for 958 weeks at the time of our interview. Obviously, they clicked, and were married on Nov. 11, 2007. Their wedding song was The Turtles’ Happy Together. They say this still sings to them. After all of these years they are happy together.

Harvey was drawn to the Greenwich House Senior Center and felt right at home. Anyone over 60 years old can join. He became more active, rising to an elected council position at the center. He loves giving back to the community. Hellen also gives back to the community and is more able to put into practice the lessons she learned from Doris that even the little things we do can be important. Hellen says, “It would take forever to walk Doris through Washington Square Park because so many people loved her.” Renowned marionettist Ricky Syres had made a mini-Doris for his puppet family, and later made puppets of both Hellen and Harvey, which the couple proudly display in their living room.

Also, in their living room between family photos, books, and artwork, cut-out letters spelling “LIVE LOVE LAUGH” are displayed in the picture window. Hellen and Harvey decided to invite the friends they had made, and their friends’ friends, to regular parties so that they could all get to know each other better, and not just to say ‘hello’ in the park. It was their way to strengthen and improve their neighborhood, and to help people love their community.

If there was just one thing they could accomplish now, they both say it would be to convince people to be active, involved and in love with their community and volunteer! They have already done so much for that goal and they said, “Volunteering has brought joy and happiness to us, and we want that for others too.”

Come meet Harvey and Hellen at the Center on the Square, 20 Washington Square North, Wednesdays at 2 p.m. for Let’s Jam (Music), and Fridays at 2 p.m. for Let’s Chat.

About their programs they say, “Our activities are easy, inviting, and inclusive. Music and conversation are the bridges to a shared humanity and can dispel feelings of isolation and loneliness.”

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Learn more at: Greenwich Houses’ Network of Older Adults
greenwichhouse.org/network-of-older-adult-centers