By Alabama Public Radio
Selma, AL – Two amateur political pollsters have died in Alabama. Beulah Farmer ran a straw poll from her rural Elmore County store. She died Wednesday at the age of 75 after a long illness. Meanwhile...Selma restaurateur and founder of the political Pancake Polls Ed Hagemann has died of a heart attack at the age of 72. He owned Ed's Pancake House in Selma and managed to merge pancakes with politics for almost 25 years with his customer polls. The unofficial polls were surprisingly accurate in state and national, so they drew attention from politicians and others. Farmer had said that she started taking the polls before elections just to have something to do and was surprised herself by their accuracy. U-S Senator Richard Shelby called Hagemann a good friend to Selma and to Alabama. Funeral services for Farmer will be Saturday morning at New Hope Baptist Church in the Lightwood community in northwest Elmore County. A graveside service is set for Thursday morning for Hagemann.