When she was in her 60s, Nula Murphy Thanhauser turned her passion for collecting antique and vintage purses into a second career, selling, appraising, and lecturing about them all over the country. She favored the most whimsical of Art Deco, Art Nouveau, and Egyptian Revival handbags and accessories. At one of her first shows, in 2006 in West Palm Beach, Fla., “customers were six deep in her booth,” Antiques and The Arts Weekly, a trade publication, reported at the time.

On Saturday night well after hours, when most lifeguards are home and dry, Thomas Casse was at a dinner party at the Montauk Shores Condominiums just east of Ditch Plain when another attendee, Sophie Walton, first heard a faint cry for help.

Joseph John Raffel Jr., 89, a craftsman, painter, miniaturist, and bird carver who retired in 1992 from a 35-year career with the Long Island Lighting Company, died of lung cancer on July 22 at Saratoga Hospital in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

Dozens of writers were on hand Saturday night for the East Hampton Library’s annual Authors Night, a celebration of all things literary. 

A coalition has formed to stop the proposed redevelopment of the former Wainscott sand and gravel pit into a 50-lot commercial and industrial subdivision and to advocate instead for East Hampton Town to purchase the property for open space and municipal purposes.

Among the food-forward events planned for this weekend are benefits for institutions like Amber Waves Farm, the Springs Food Pantry, and the Amagansett Fire Department.

Again the Hampton Lifeguard Association, a team comprising guards from East Hampton and Southampton Towns, enjoyed a strong outing at the United States Lifesaving Association’s championships, which were held last week at Hermosa Beach, Calif.

The July 23 crossing from Montauk Point to Block Island was the 12th for Paddlers for Humanity, an event that to date has raised more than $2 million to help local children and families in crisis.