Vice President

Richard “Rick” Backo

Rick was born in Cleveland in 1959 but moved to Bedford when he was three.  A 1977 graduate of Bedford High School, Rick went on to Edinboro State College in Pennsylvania where he received his bachelor’s in fine arts in Drawing and Painting in 1981.  He returned to Bedford where he married Christine in 1984 and they raised their three children.  Rick worked for the City of Bedford in the Recreation Department, retiring in 2016.  His dear wife Christine passed away in 2020, but Rick remains in Bedford on South Circle where the beauty of the Bedford Metroparks surrounds him.  He is currently an active volunteer at the museum and keeps up with his artwork doing watercolors and acrylics of many subjects including Bedford, nature and recently portraits of people’s pets.  Rick’s artwork can be seen on the intersections of Columbus, Warrensville and Broadway, having been selected by the city to beautify utility boxes.

“After college, my many visits to the Bedford Museum and frequent talks with Dick Squire piqued my interest in the rich history of this town.  I started including the history in my artwork, doing several “historical recreations” from old photos of Bedford landmarks that no longer exist.  I have been very fortunate to have been raised in Bedford where the beauty of the Bedford Reservation, the city’s history and the people have been such a major influence on my life and my art.”