A longitudinal study was made of Prairie City, Iowa wherein the personal and social characteristics of the 1962 power actor pool were compared with characteristics of the 1973 power actor pool to test the hypothesis that: the personal and social characteristics of power actors will not change significantly over time. Procedures for identifying Prairie City power actors in both 1962 and 1973 involved interviews with: (1) external identifiers; (2) internal identifiers; and (3) the power actors themselves. Power actors (25 in 1962 and 33 in 1973) were querried as to: (1) the amount of social power other power actors and themselves possessed in specific issue areas; (2) their social participation in organizations; (3) role expectations of power actors; (4) bases of social power of power actors; and (5) their personal and social characteristics. Variables tested were: age; education; occupational prestige; income; length of residence in community and State; political orientation; number of memberships in local community organizations; and number of memberships in noncommunity organizations. Findings supported the general hypothesis but indicated that the power actors themselves were likely to change over time, as only 8 of the original power actors were among those identified in 1973. (JC)