From 1928 until 1956, the home at 140 E. State St. in Doylestown was owned by Allen Russell Thomas and his wife, Helen. Russ was a reporter and sports editor of the Daily Intelligencer for 40 years. Described as a newspaperman of the old school, he would write election stories at home and drive to Philadelphia to file them with the Philadelphia Inquirer, Evening Bulletin, Philadelphia Record and Public Ledger. Then he would be back in Doylestown at daybreak to begin his duties with the Intel.
When a big story broke in the county seat, Russ would host visiting newsmen at the Maennerchor in clubrooms turned into newsrooms. Said to be always dapper in his appearance, Russ was a member of the Philadelphia Sports Writers Association and the Bucks-Mont Sports Writers Association. He was also an active member of the community, belonging to the Doylestown Kiwanis, Union Horse Company and various other civic organizations.
When he died on December 28, 1976, his obituary read, “His contributions on every level of living during his newspaper career, between the 1920s and his retirement in 1961, can be measured only by those who knew him, worked with him, admired him and now live on to remember him.”
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