People Are Sharing Pics Of Life 50-100 Years Ago And They Might Put Things In A New Perspective
The easiest way for us to get a glimpse into the good old days is to open up our family's photo album. But what if we go through the images and instead of calming down our curiosity, they only fuel it? Easy. We open up the subreddit r/TheWayWeWere next.
It's a place where folks share pictures from 50, 100, and even more years ago to show what everyday life looked like in the past. Featuring old photos, scanned documents, articles, and personal anecdotes, this subreddit has become one of the biggest vintage archives online.
Continue scrolling and check out why 528K people subscribe to r/TheWayWeWere.
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Mary Wallace: First Female Bus Driver For Chicago Transit Authority (1974)
My Ridiculously Attractive Grandparents Sitting For A Portrait In The Early 1940s
The last 100 years have produced profound changes in human history.
Wars, technological developments, progress in civil rights, and breakthroughs in science and medicine, the old world has been swept away. Whether it's for better or worse.
Centuries-old empires crumbled as new ideologies – like communism and fascism – took over in many parts of the world. Wars in the early part of the 20th century put an end to the colonial world and gave birth to new nations. However, these wars also cost millions of lives and trillions of dollars.
My Mom On Her Wedding Day November 1951
Cats Blackie & Brownie Catching Squirts Of Milk During Milking At Arch Badertscher's Dairy Farm In Fresno, California, 1954
Throughout the past century, technological innovations have transformed our lives in ways we never dreamed of. Progressive ideas emerged and changed the world as women, African Americans, and the LGBTQ community demanded, and often won, equal rights; from the ratification of the 19th Amendment in the United States to the legalization of same-sex marriage in many countries. But recent civil rights conflicts tell us the fight for equality is not over.
A Native American Girl Of The Kiowa Tribe, Oklahoma, 1894
My Great-Great-Grandmother Sometime In The 1890s
The pandemic that began ravaging the world in 2020 reminds us that even though we can buy a ticket to go to space, we're still vulnerable to viruses that can shut down economies and disrupt society.
People are hoping science can save Earth from the devastating changes to the climate that continue to imperil the ecosystems of our planet. In the coming years, natural disasters may have an increasingly impactful role in the course of history. Who knows where we will end up in another 100.
Protesting The High School Dress Code That Banned Slacks For Girls, Brooklyn C.1940
Two Pals (1920)
Gay Men Pose For A Photo While Being Detained At A Police Station For Being Homosexuals In Mexico, 1935
1945: The Day Daddy Came Home. Gunner Hector Murdoch Had Been Gone Over Four Years, Most Of It As A Prisoner Of War In Singapore. His Wife Rosina And Son John Hadn't Known If He Was Dead Or Alive. He Got Home On His Birthday
Dad Showing Off His Skill To The Surprise Of His Little Daughter In Melbourne, Australia, Ca. 1940s
London's First Black Police Officer, PC Norwell Roberts, On Point Duty Near Charing Cross Station, 1968
He's definitely on point duty. That's a fantastic point he's got there.
This 1955 Photo Is One Of Walter Chandoha’s Most Famous Shots. “My Daughter Paula And The Kitten Both ‘Smiled’ For The Camera At The Same Time. …but The Cat’s Not Smiling, He’s Meowing”
Sisters In Skirts, 1950s
My Great Grandmother In The Early 1900’s. Thought She Looked Too Awesome Not To Share
My Parents’ Wedding Photo, Okinawa, 1964
My Grandpa (Left) And His Best Friend Willie Hall During The Korean War. Those Smiles Say It All
My Grandfather, Great-Grandfather, Great-Great-Grandfather, And Great-Great-Great Grandmother, Ca 1918
My Great-Grandfather That Was Too Poor To Afford A Suit In Sicily, So He Had To Pose In Front Of A Cardboard Cut-Out, 1930s~
This Is Hazel, My Grandmother-In-Law. 1916
My Grandmother And Mom Circa 1974. My Grandmother Took My Mother To National Parks Over The Course Of A Few Months, Just The Two Of Them
“Our Michael”, 1938
A Sailor "Meets" His Baby For The First Time After Fourteen Months At Sea, 1940s
Okay, some parenting lessons may be needed. Day One: How to Hold the Baby.
Grandma And Papa In 1937. She Passed Away Today At 100 Years Old
Last Picture Of My Great Uncle Kennith, Before He Drowned In The Buffalo River, 1940’s. He Gave His Life Saving My Grandpa
My Mother Made Us Matching Dresses For A Fancy Party Back In 1954
Saw This Photo Posted Here.. Noticed I Have The Photo The Grandmother Took That Day. (Bought At An Antique Shop Years Ago In Phx)
A Parisian Woman With Her Cat In Her Cannabis Garden, 1910
I have a cat. All I need now is the garden (and some law changes please).
This Is My Grandma Dorothy. She Was A Dress Designer In The 50s Which Always Made This Photo More Funny To Me. She Passed Away Today At Age 89. A Life Well Lived
Vintage Photo From A Family Album, Freeport, Il
Besides the obvious that he is a black man and she a white woman in the 1900s, when this required a lot of guts, I love the fact he's wearing puttees as part of civilian dress. This was pretty common before WW1. After the war... not so much.
Everyone is assuming he is biracial or black but if you zoom in, I am not so sure. I think people are making assumptions. I would be interested to know the origin of this picture to know the true story.
Load More Replies...That, and they're playing. Most photos from that era, couples are so serious.
Load More Replies...Some posting (on here) that the original poster (OP) stated that they are siblings and that the photo has a weird exposure. But I think with the exposure thing, it would show up on her as well, not just him.
Load More Replies...Tightened so tight with laced corsets, no wonder women did not live as long as men in those days.
Load More Replies...Ok everybody , y'all are overlooking the fact that this is a sepia toned black & white photo. Add to the that it's clearly high contrast from what looks like a sunny day & that the photo is over 100 years old, it's no surprise that one or both of the subjects' skin tone looks darker than it probably actually was. So, unless the person who posted this photo responds telling us all the ethnic backgrounds of these two, we may never know.
OP on Reddit says "He is her brother. Other photos show that this is just an exposure issue as he is in shadow." "My wife's great aunt and uncle, from the Freeport, Illinois area, playing around. They had a family friend who was a professional photographer and, as a result, and many informal photos of the family at play."
What is truly sad is that all of us feel a need to comment on race. They're just two happy, young people.
Is that water he is spraying on her face ? Or is he pulling fake skin off her face ? Or is it hair he ís pulling ? What is he doing to her or her doing to him ??? , This 8s a good picture but sum stuff don't look correct to me ,,, his right foot is distorted or sumthin ,,, what 8s the stuff from his hand to her face ,,,,how they get on that rock and not get wet ,,,,,,the reflection in water of the trees and grass and brushes is all messed up ,,,pretty sure they are people in the background tó the left of her arm about at her elbow ,,,,, and her hands look swollen ,,,,,, that's just stuff I seen after only a few mins of looking at this picture
I love this image. There is just so much... right with it, for the lack of better words.
Cute. I'm wondering which one fell in the water first! They're obviously having fun.
Partly bc taking a photo back then you had to sit still for a long period of time and that could get annoying after awhile.
Load More Replies...I have better things to spend my tme & energy on, that are definitely more enjoyable, that's for sure. Don't you? I can hope that the numerous other souls out there that think & feel the same as I, that pray for a world without hate, may eventually make the same choice that I'm making & that is to just simply turn around & walk away without any further wasted time. And maybe when enough of us have chosen this path, there won't be anyone left to fight this conflict & it too will cease to exist as well. Hey a girl can at least hope, can't she…
The reason for this is sadly because all people saw was what they "assumed" was the color of skin of those in the picture. Not one single person saw this picture for what it truly is, A FAMILY PHOTO, & absolutely nothing more. Regardless if a commenter was for or against the gentleman in question, it didnt matter…every single comment posted went first to one thing & one thing only. That was either to be negative or positive about skin color. How very sad indeed. Here's how I see it: don't waste any more precious time or energy trying to change the minds of all the ignorant & insignificant people out there. They are never going to change their opinions (agree or not they're still allowed to have them). Remember this one statement; We will never agree. So why should I continue to waste my time trying to change something that will never change? I shouldn't & I won't any longer. I refuse to waste the time I have on something that will never be different. TBC
The TITLE (lack of a better word) states; "Vintage Photo from a Family Album, Freeport, IL." Then this comment (BIG TY to Jennifer Connoly) was posted; "OP on Reddit says "He is her brother. Other photos show that this is just an exposure issue as he is in shadow." "My wife's great aunt and uncle, from the Freeport, Illinois area, playing around. They had a family friend who was a professional photographer and, as a result, and many informal photos of the family at play." Thank You for that. Too bad a majority of the population will continue to argue over one topic. No one saw a "Family Photo" & as much as it pains me to say this but sadly it'll be a very long, long time (if ever) before anyone will ever see this photo for what it truly is. And that is "A Family Photo" nothing more, nothing less. This was EXTREMELY heartbreaking for me to read, so much that I couldn't bring myself to read more than only a few more comments beyond Jennifer Crompton's explanation. ....TBC
Anyone else from Freeport? Looks like Yellow Creek at Krape Park, near the twin caves.
Why is everyone focusing on whether or not this guy is black? Why is that the only thing that's important to you?
tick-tock that happened at a time when it was not yet fashionable ...
This is cute but obviously a staged photo for something. An ad or movie?
Why did people dislike this? I think u did a great job
Load More Replies...I don’t care if he’s black. I didn’t even notice until all the comments carrying on about it. I’m way more interested in the impossible size of her waist. Good grief it’s tiny.
I find this refreshing, you hear so much about racism, even then not everyone was that way.
I don't know why people are down-voting. Everyone is assuming he is biracial or black but if you zoom in, I am not so sure. I think people are making assumptions.
Load More Replies...Yeah, I'm sure that's just starting with millennials. Racial segregation was probably the law in most of the US when this photo was taken but I'm sure it makes you feel better to just write that young people's views on race are flawed.
Load More Replies...Me And My Best Friend Rocky Watching TV, 1959
Ladies At A Lesbian Club In Chelsea, 1953
A Mostly Happy Family Outing At Chicken Bone Beach, The Segregated Section Of Atlantic City's Beach Area, New Jersey, 1950s (Photographed By John W. Mosley)
1976 vs. 2018; 42 Years And We're Still Going Strong
Young Oyster Shuckers, Port Royal, South Carolina, 1909
Crikey - the “thousand yard stare” at that young age. Life must have been tough for these girls.
Reddit Seems To Love My Taita (Grandma), So Here Is Another One Of Her From 1950’s Beirut
The Wedding Rings Of My Ggm, Gggm, Ggggm, And Gggggm Oldest Dating Back To 1832!
Police Officer Unaware Of The Imminent Danger, Chicago, 1959
After Spending More Than Five Years In A North Vietnamese Camp, Lt. Col. Robert L. Stirm Is Reunited With His Family At Travis Afb, March 13, 1973
This photo, called "Burst of Joy" won a Pulitzer prize. It has an unhappy ending though. According to Wikipedia "Despite outward appearances, the reunion was an unhappy one for Stirm. Three days before he arrived in the United States, the same day he was released from captivity, Stirm received a Dear John letter from his wife Loretta informing him that their marriage was over. Stirm later learned that Loretta had been with other men throughout his captivity, receiving marriage proposals from three of them. In 1974, the Stirms divorced and Loretta remarried, but Lieutenant Colonel Stirm was still ordered by the courts to provide her with 43% of his military retirement pay once he retired from the Air Force. Stirm was later promoted to full Colonel and retired from the Air Force in 1977."
My Grandpa’s Schoolhouse In Texas Ca. 1930’s. He Was Always Embarrassed Of This Picture Because He Was Too Poor To Afford Shoes
My dad remembered going to school in Ireland in the early 1940s alongside kids with no shoes. Extreme poverty is more recent than you think.
Women Trainees Of The Lapd Practice Firing Their Newly Issued Revolvers, 1948
Dublin, 1962
Caught On The Firescape, 1946
Offerings To The Unknown Dead, Kyoto, Japan, 1963
The 70s Transition: My Parents In 1968 And Again In 1970
My American Grandmother Visiting Athens In The 1960s
Such style in a lot of these pictures! Too bad nobody really dares to wear anymore
Listening To The Radio On The Beach, Circa 1940s
The Rolled-Stockings Trend Of The 1920's Brought On A Fad Of Hand-Painted Knees
Class Divide In Britain, 1930's
Me Ready For Friday Night Lights, 1969
Fatherhood, 1970s
I Clip Articles That Interest Me. This One From 1981 Seemed So Crazy It Was Worth Saving
In 1959, Volvo Invented The 3-Point Seat Belt, Then Gave A Free License To All Other Car Manufacturers To Use It
Even then, General Motors tried to patent it in the USA and then sell the licence to produce it ..... Capitalism at it's best eh ?
Woman Stands On A Farmer’s Shoulders To Emphasizes The Height Of Their Corn Crop, Minnesota, 1916
The Way We Were ... And Are Again
Humanity's failure to learn from its mistakes is very much on full display right now
Midsummer Celebration At Skansen, Stockholm In The 1970s. Glad Midsommar!
No participants were sacrificed during this festival...as far as we know
My Grandma And Parents Taught Me To Save Newspapers From Major Us Events As A Reminder Of Our Collective Human Experiences. I Have 9/11, Bin Laden’s Death, Obama Winning The Election. For The Holidays, I Was Gifted The Whole Family Collection. I Have Goosebumps. Here Are A Few Of The Oldest
My Mom Would Have Been 82 Years Old Today. Happy Birthday Mom
Sassy Little Boy Tweaking Fathers Nose. C1910
A 10-Year-Old Girl Plays In A Snow Drift As Her Cat Maintains Its Comfortable Perch Atop Her Head, 1952
This Dutch Couple And Their Baby, Ellis Island, Approx. 1907
Children Car Seats In The 1940s
My Grandma’s House, Sometime In The 70s Matched Up To The House As It Is Today
Crossing America In A 1964 Stationwagon
A Geisha After Washing Her Hair And Before Styling It, C. 1905
Little Girl Living A Hard Life In The The 1930s
This Is My Grandmother Who Passed Away Today At Age 89. (Circa 1948)
A Very Large Organ Pipe Cactus In Baja California, 1895
Mom And Me On My '71 Cb750, On A Summer Afternoon, So Long Ago . . . (1972)
1974 - Hippie Son Home For Dinner
My Grandpa With His First Child, 1957. He Passed Away Yesterday, April 26, Aged 91
Letter From My Grandfather To My Nan, Asking Her Out In 1941. Strange To Think That Without This Letter My Dad, Uncles, Aunt, Siblings, Cousin's, Nephew And I Might Not Have Existed
I just love how people spoke back then. Elegance, grace, polite. Why can't this still be a thing? "You will remember I called on you the Tuesday before you went away....." Ugh I love it.
My Darling Mum Standing Outside The New Family Home In The 1960s
My Great Grandmother With One Of Her Paintings [philadelphia, 1940s]
This (Shockingly High-Res & Colorized) Photo Was Taken Over 100 Years Ago, And Shows A Crew Of Men Unloading A Banana Boat In New York. I Almost Feel Like I'm There
My Grandparents Looking Like Movie Stars On Their Wedding Day. Montgomery, Alabama. 1946
Sign Outside A Park In Memphis, Tn, 1952
My Great Grandparents On Their Honeymoon (1936)
What a nice loving picture! Yes folks, our grandparents were young and in love once upon a time.
Soviet Children In Sleeping Bags On The Way To Their Dorm Room, 1930
Unemployed Lumber Worker Goes With His Wife To The Bean Harvest. Note Social Security Number Tattooed On His Arm. Oregon, August 1939
Traditional Group Dances Alternated With Rock ’n’ Roll During An Evening Dance For Young Jews, Amsterdam, 1950s
A Mother With Her Children, 1,800 Years Ago. Alexandria, Roman Egypt
In 1978, When You Got A Color TV You Posed By It
Thing was easily a hundred pounds but I still remember getting up at 4am to watch Princess Di and Charles get married.
My American Grandmother Visiting Paris In The 1960s
The Essence Of Family Cookouts In The 1970s
Irish Familly Having A Meal Of Potatoes And Milk 1917
My Dad Would Have Been 71 This Month, We Lost Him Last Year To Cancer. This Is Him At A Rugby Match In The 1970's
Socal Surf Culture. 1964
Big Hair Of The 1960s
Looking For A Sugar Daddy In The 1950s
My 98 Year-Old Grandmother Passed Away Last Week. Here She Is In Chicago Around 1940 Living It Up!
My Sis And I, 1962-Ish... On The Back It Says "Doing The Twist"
My Grandfather Passed On Friday. Here He Is With My Grandma On Their Wedding Day, 1948
My Dad/The Difference Btwn The 60s & 70s
French Village, 1950's
An Old Foster Mom Sent Me A Picture Taken Shortly After I Was Born In 1979. My Mother Refused To Hold Me So The Doctor Who Delivered Me Stepped In
A Bread Delivery Man With Bags Filled With Baguettes On A Snowy Street In Quebec In 1977
My Dad About To Run Away And Find His Suzy Bishop. Oregon Circa 1970
6 June 1944, Times Square NYC. People Reading News Of The D-Day Landings On The Times Building Electronic Billboard. My Colorisation Of B&w By Howard Hollem
Ashtrays And Coin-Operated Televisions In The Los Angeles Greyhound Bus Terminal, 1969
High School Students, 1981. (School Unknown)
Gym Aboard The Titanic, 1912
Teenagers Dancing And Socializing At A Party, 1947
A Man Standing In The Lumberyard Of Seattle Cedar Lumber Manufacturing. 1939
Times Square, 1957
My Great Grandfather And Great Grandmother And Their Respective Squads In The Summer Of ‘36
Staff At A Burger Chef Circa 1975
Getting Cooled Air Piped Into The Car While Enjoying A Meal At A Drive-In Restaurant. Houston, Texas, 1957
Even into the early 1990s, A/C wasn’t standard in anything but higher end car models. I found this out when shopping for an economical car back then. If you bought anything fancier than a Ford Escort, for example, you got A/C included in the price. You had to pay extra for it if you bought the Escort. Later on it became standard equipment on all cars—-thank goodness, because it gets unbearably hot and humid in summer where I live!
British Schoolboys Holding Discarded Syringes, 1970s
I don’t think this is as sinister as it appears. I remember a craze for using large syringes as water pistols back in the 70s. A drug syringe is a much smaller item in any case.
New Car Shopping, 1950s
My Grandma’s Hospital Bill After Giving Birth To My Dad In 1955
A Rare Negative Reveals Times Square NYC In Color, Circa 1948
i see the coppers. i wonder where the alcoholic gumshoe is? ahhh, pry with some dame...
Teenage Meet-Up On Main Street, Caldwell Idaho, June-July 1941. My Colorisation Of B&w By Russell Lee
The Corner Store, 1960
Do you think they sell soda there at all? They could have let people know.
My Dad’s Total Cost For A Semester Of College Back In 1970. Would Be $250 Today!
Life Magazine, 1915
Say what you like about fashion magazines, at least they don't endorse slavery, genocide, and keeping female war captives alive to use as sex slaves
A Busy (To Say The Least) Kmart Store- Circa 1970s
I have all my grandparents and great grandparents old picture albums ! Come on over !
Load More Replies...It was my grandfather's birthday. This WWII "happy event" shows the wear and tear of the times on the faces of the participants. My mother - upper left - almost has a smile. Who knew in 1943 where the war would take us, how it would end? war-birthd...549034.jpg
My other fave pic from that era. 1967, my Mum and Dad looking like freakin' movie stars at the Fortuna Hotel in Bangkok, Thailand. In a band, they were fresh out of a night in jail because their shady agent forgot to renew their visas. Still no sign of their luggage, they had to borrow the hotel's bathrobes while they waited. Love the back story behind the "glamour" shot, lol! 1967-Dad-a...63e818.jpg
My parents on their first date in 1963. I came along about a year later :-) 1963-Dad-a...c52148.jpg
This is a reminder that parents / grandparents were once young people doing what young people do. My dad used to always say “of course I know what you’re up to, because I did the same things when I was your age” and I would always think “you were never my age age, you’re the dad”
Lastly, 'cause I could go on and on (you're welcome!), here I am with Mum and Dad at their "second" wedding in 1974 (big semi-scandal at the time, I'm the only one that didn't know it was their first). Wonderful example of my Dad's style and porn 'stache. And I look adorable. 1974-Mum-a...b84dae.jpg
It genuinely saddens me that when people look at photographs 100 years from now, they'll see garbage like their grandmother's trout pout and not at all like the elegance and grace of 'our' 100 years ago.
I enjoyed the post, so different, I truly love old, styles as compared to today, is blah !!!
I have all my grandparents and great grandparents old picture albums ! Come on over !
Load More Replies...It was my grandfather's birthday. This WWII "happy event" shows the wear and tear of the times on the faces of the participants. My mother - upper left - almost has a smile. Who knew in 1943 where the war would take us, how it would end? war-birthd...549034.jpg
My other fave pic from that era. 1967, my Mum and Dad looking like freakin' movie stars at the Fortuna Hotel in Bangkok, Thailand. In a band, they were fresh out of a night in jail because their shady agent forgot to renew their visas. Still no sign of their luggage, they had to borrow the hotel's bathrobes while they waited. Love the back story behind the "glamour" shot, lol! 1967-Dad-a...63e818.jpg
My parents on their first date in 1963. I came along about a year later :-) 1963-Dad-a...c52148.jpg
This is a reminder that parents / grandparents were once young people doing what young people do. My dad used to always say “of course I know what you’re up to, because I did the same things when I was your age” and I would always think “you were never my age age, you’re the dad”
Lastly, 'cause I could go on and on (you're welcome!), here I am with Mum and Dad at their "second" wedding in 1974 (big semi-scandal at the time, I'm the only one that didn't know it was their first). Wonderful example of my Dad's style and porn 'stache. And I look adorable. 1974-Mum-a...b84dae.jpg
It genuinely saddens me that when people look at photographs 100 years from now, they'll see garbage like their grandmother's trout pout and not at all like the elegance and grace of 'our' 100 years ago.
I enjoyed the post, so different, I truly love old, styles as compared to today, is blah !!!