Longtime physician, rancher, political activist, and Oklahoma native Dr. Ed Latta Calhoon graduated valedictorian from Beaver High School (1940), received his BS degree from Northwestern State Teachers College (1947) in Alva (now Northwestern Oklahoma State University) and his medical degree from the University of Oklahoma’s College of Medicine (1951). After an internship and general surgery residency at Tulsa’s Hillcrest Medical Center (1951-1954), Calhoon returned to his hometown to open his private practice and serve on the staff of the Beaver County Memorial Hospital for an unprecedented 51 years. In 1973, the National Health Care Advisory Board in Maryland appointed him as Medical-Surgical Traveler to Great Britain and he served many other organizations, including the National Cancer Advisory Board and as Oklahoma’s delegate to the American Medical Association (1970-1995). From 1989 to 1994, Calhoon was a member of the State Regents for Higher Education and was named “Oklahoma Physician of the Year” in 1984.