Bedichek, Roy, 1878-1959

Roy Bedichek was born in 1878 in Illinois but moved to Texas as a child. After graduating from the University of Texas, he worked as a reporter, teacher, and editor and as secretary of various organizations before becoming associated with the University Interscholastic League in 1917 where he remained as director until 1948. He was an avid amateur naturalist and began to write about his interests in 1946. He completed four books before his death in 1959.

From the description of Bedichek, Roy, photographs 1898-1957. (University of Texas Libraries). WorldCat record id: 39518995

From the description of Bedichek, Roy, papers, 1897-1959. (University of Texas Libraries). WorldCat record id: 39179513

Roy Bedichek was born on June 27, 1878 in Cass County, Illinois. At the age of six he and his family moved to Falls County, Texas. Bedichek attended the Bedichek Academy at Eddy, a school founded by his father. He entered the University of Texas at Austin in 1898 and worked for John A. Lomax in the Office of the Registrar until graduating with a B.S. in 1903. In 1910 he married Lillian Greer; they had three children together. From 1903 until 1917, when he returned to the University, Bedichek held many jobs: reporter, high school teacher, newspaper editor, and secretary to two Chambers of Commerce, one in Deming, New Mexico, and the other in Austin (where the Chamber of Commerce was then known as the Young Men's Business League). From 1915-1916 Bedichek worked as the executive secretary to Will C. Hogg's Organization for Promoting Interest in Higher Education in Texas. In 1917 he returned to the University of Texas at Austin as the director of the University Interscholastic League (UIL, aka Texas Interscholastic League). Through his belief in the benefits of educational competition Bedichek shaped the UIL's policies and made the fledgling league a success. Bedichek served as director of the UIL until his retirement in 1948.

Bedichek is best known for his work as a Texas naturalist and his friendship with J. Frank Dobie and Walter Prescott Webb. His career as an author and his relationship with Webb and Dobie are intertwined, as it was these two friends who encouraged Bedichek to write his first book, Adventures with a Texas Naturalist (1947). To write this work, Bedichek took a hiatus from the UIL and went into a year long seclusion at Webb's Friday Mountain Ranch. Bedichek wrote two more books, Karankaway County (1950) and Educational Competition (1956) before his death in 1959. The Sense of Smell (1960) was published posthumously. Bedichek's letters have been collected into three books, including one detailing his friendships with Dobie and Webb.

From the guide to the Roy Bedichek Papers, 1897-1959, (Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, The University of Texas)