30 Images Captured Between 50 to 100 Years Ago Demonstrating the Dramatic Changes Over Time

How many of us know that our time is our most valuable resource? Even we can’t fathom how fast it moves, but it does! Unfortunately, relatively few people are aware of this. We only realize how much has changed when we look back at our old photos. However, a sizable internet community is drawn to intriguing antique photographs.

We discovered an internet group called “The Way We Were” with more than 725k members. To show how much has changed, the community frequently shares many rare antique images of everyday life in the past. Scroll down to see some breathtaking images taken 50, 100, or even more years ago!

#1 These Two Are My Beautiful Grandparents Who Were Sitting For A Self-Portrait In The Early 1940s

If you are unfamiliar with the term “photography,” it is the practice of accurately retaking ancient photographs of locations in the present. Finding the precise location where a photo was shot almost a hundred years ago may be very difficult, especially in ancient photographs.

#2 Brownie And Blackie Catching Squirts Of Milk At Arch Badertscher’s Dairy Farm, Fresno, California, In 1954

#3 This Is My Pretty Great-Great Grandma In The 1890s.

#4 These Gay Men Were Detained For Being Homosexual In A Police Station In Mexico In 1935

This is because locations change considerably over time. People are always up for a challenge and regularly inspire us with incredible recreations of historical images in the present, demonstrating how time alters everything, and sometimes not for the better.

#5 This Is The First Female Bus Driver For Chicago Transit Authority In 1974; Mary Wallace

#6 A Native American Girl Who Belongs To The Kiowa Tribe, Oklahoma, 1894

History and photography have never been the best of friends, and it can be hard to foresee which images will become ingrained in the complex tapestry of human history. While some images are created with the idea of enduring popularity, others find themselves steadily rising to the top as historical ideals are examined, and social mores shift.

The images below show how people, places, and experiences via compelling messaging and ground-breaking imagery have shaped historical events. These images captured some of history’s most significant moments at the height of their fame and awed, motivated, and inspired people from all walks of life.

#7 This Picture Was Captured By Walter Chandoha In 1955. It Says, “My Daughter Paula As Well As Her Kitten Smiled At My Camera Together…But The Kitten Was Meowing, Not Smiling!”

#8 High School Girls Protesting The High School Dress Code Which Banned Slacks For Them, Brooklyn C.1940.

#9 A 1940s Picture Showing A Sailor Meeting His Baby For The Very First Time Right After 14 Months At Sea.

#10 Sisters Wore Skirts, the 1950s

#11 Best Friends, 1920s

#12 My Mom’s Big Day November In 1951.

#13 1945: The Picture Shows Gunner Hector Murdoch’s Re-Encounter With His Family. He Had Been Gone For More Than 4 Years, Most Of It As A Prisoner Of War In Singapore.

Thus, The Family Was Not Aware If He Was Dead Or Alive. However, He Got Back Home, Surprising Everyone On His Birthday.

 #14 My Great-Grandfather Was Not That Wealthy To Afford Such A Suit He Had To Pose In Front Of A Cardboard Cut-Out, the 1930s.

#15 These Two Are My Mom And Grandmom. My Grandmom took my mom on a trip to National Parks over A Few Months In 1974.

#16 “Our Michael” In Oct 1938

#17 Dad Surprised His Little Girl With His Skill In Melbourne, Australia, Ca. 1940s

#18 PC Norwell Roberts, London’s First Black Police Officer On Point Duty Near Charing Cross Station In 1968

#19 My Parents On Their Wedding Day In Okinawa, 1964.

#20 My Grandfather With My Great-Grandfather, Great-Great-Grandfather, And Great-Great-Great Grandmother, Ca 1918

#21 Once I Saw This Post, I Remembered My Grandmother’s Photo That She Took That Day. (Bought At An Antique Shop Years Ago In Phx)

#22 This Is My Smart Great Grandmother In The Early 1900s.

#23 This One Wearing A Barrel Is My Grandma Dorothy, Whose Profession Was Dress Designing In The 50s. She Passed Away Recently At The Age Of 89. She Had A Well Spent Life.

#24 This Is My Grandpa (Left) Posing For A Photo With His Best Friend, Willie Hall, During The Korean War

#25 My Mom And I Wore Matching Dresses For A Fancy Party In 1954

#26 Grandma Posing For A Photo With My Grandpa In 1937. She Passed Away When She Was 100 Years Old

#27 My Grandma-In-Law, Mrs. Hazel, Back In 1916

#28 The Last Picture Of My Great Uncle Kenneth, Who Drowned And Sacrificed His Life To The Buffalo River To Save My Grandpa In The 1940s.

Credits: teenietina182

#29 Rocky Watching TV With Me In 1959.

#30 Caught Them On The Fire Exit In 1946

Everything is changing so quickly in these troubled times that our minds can never keep up with the circumstances that result from those changes. (World) Everything we perceive today, from our professional objectives to our relationships, our values to our philosophies, and our ideas to our convictions, will be completely different tomorrow. Furthermore, people’s goals and cognitive processes have grown so strongly individualistic in light of the world’s changes that there is nothing more or less to say about their alleged ideas. Because they lack the opportunity to consider other people’s circumstances and positions, they tend to stick to their own opinions.


Their perceptions, priorities, and personalities begin to rule their lives as their thoughts converge with their life ideals.

It has been noted that mutual trust is lacking in society. For any partnership, we must rely on contracts and written documentation. Suspicion results from a lack of trust and has significantly encroached on every aspect of society. It has hurt the foundations of coexistence itself. Individual success has evolved into the fundamental foundation of their existence. Compassion and collaboration have been replaced with comparisons and competitiveness.


How many families and civilizations can survive in these circumstances defies all logic. In modern society, we are increasingly isolated. In addition, we have been going through a terrifying moment due to this global pandemic. 

It has not only caused numerous disruptions in people’s personal and professional life but also has an almost universal impact on individuals and society. Other side effects include loneliness, melancholy, panic attacks, insomnia, and health concerns. According to the 17th-century poet John Donne, “No man is an island, entire of himself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main.” The pace of change in the globe is accelerating. The political situation is changing and growing more unpredictable on a global scale, technology is affecting everything we do, environmental pressures are alarmingly high, and social tensions are rising practically everywhere.

This rapid speed is gradually becoming uncontrollable, self-created turbulence. Given that evolution is a universal phenomenon, people naturally gravitate toward change. Although many civilizations seek stability and foster a sense of permanence, it is also natural for society to undergo periodic changes. Social transformation happens within the lives of a whole community, not just one person or a small number of people. It is a global phenomenon that happens everywhere, albeit the speed and scope may differ from society to society.

Technology, economic growth, and climatic change are the three main forces driving social change. The idea that a man once experienced the ideal level of happiness, which is eroding through time, gives rise to the thesis that all societal changes are negative. The fact that we are undergoing an extraordinary transition period cannot be underlined.