A Guide to the Roy Bedichek Papers, 1897-1959

Biographical Note

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.

Scope and Contents

Papers concern the career of Bedichek (1878-1959), naturalist, educator, and writer. Materials relate to Bedichek's activities as editor of the Deming (New Mexico) Headlight (1910-1912), director of the University (of Texas) Interscholastic League (1914-1948), and secretary of the Town and Gown Club of Austin (1930-1934); his studies of ornithology, botany, wildlife, and conservation; and historical philosophical studies. The collection includes documentation for Bedichek's publications: the Interscholastic Leaguer, published under his editorship; Adventures with a Texas Naturalist (1948); Karankaway Country (1950); Educational Competition (1956); and The Sense of Smell (1960). Included are correspondence, literary productions, business papers, pamphlets, brochures, broadsides, newspapers, newspaper clippings and photographs.

Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Roy Bedichek Papers, 1897-1959, Center for American History, The University of Texas at Austin.

Detailed Description of the Collection