Examining the extent to which women were emerging as power actors in rural areas, data were collected from two rural communities (Prairie City at 4,400 and Center Town at 2,000 population) in 1962, 1973, and 1977. The hypotheses examined were: women community power actors will have fewer memberships in voluntary associations than men power actors; they will be as old or older than the men; they will have lived in the community as long or longer than the men; and they will have as high or higher levels of income and education than the men. Variables examined were age; education; income; length of residence; political orientation; memberships in voluntary groups; total mean power value in business, politics, and general affairs; and occupational prestige. Power actor identification involved interviewing external knowledgeables, internal knowledgeables, and the power actors themselves. The populations interviewed were small, ranging from interviews with 30 internal knowledgeables in 1977 to 2 female power actors in 1962. Results indicated: little change in selected personal characteristics; more memberships in voluntary associations among men; differentiation in the occupations held by men (business, agriculture, and education) and women (professional and technical) power actors; equivalent education among men and women; a mean age of 45-55; an increase in the number of women power actors (23.6% and 26.7% in 1973 and 1977); and emergence of 2 female role models--the resource model (employed outside the home and younger) and the good-companion model (housewives, older, and at the empty nest stage). (JC)