One of the most special things about photographs is that they freeze a moment in time—a split second that happened that we will never get back. They can transport us to the past and give us a glimpse into a time when we were decades younger or even before we were born.
Photography plays an important role in preserving our family history and legacy and keeping memories alive. Without photos, we might never really know what our parents, grandparents, or even great-grandparents looked like when they were younger. Or what everyday life was like for people living 50, 100, or more years ago.
There’s an online community dedicated to sharing photos, scanned documents, articles, and personal anecdotes from the past. It has more than 1.5 million members and an endless archive of beautiful and fascinating content that conjures up all sorts of warm, fuzzy, nostalgic feelings. We’ve picked our personal favorites. Keep scrolling and enjoy a trip back in time through a series of real-life images shared by members of The Way We Were. Don’t miss the interesting chat Bored Panda had with Clémence Scouten, a personal historian and founder of Memoirs & More, about why family history matters. We also spoke to Julie Kessler, the owner of Picture This Organized, for advice on how to preserve and organize old family photographs.
#1 Halloween 1977: Me As C-3po, My Sister As R2-D2. We Won Our Elementary School Costume Contest!
Image source: makinghomemadejam
#2 A Sweet Photo Of A Brother And Sister. Charlottesville, Va, C. 1916
Image source: WorldHub995
#3 My Grandma And Grandpa, 1961
Image source: colieoly
#4 London Punks And An Interested Gran In Chelsea, 1982
Image source: Pixxiprincess
#5 My Grandmother With My Mother In The Early 1970s. My Grandma Had A Pretty Sweet Fro!
Image source: Nadia_LaMariposa
#6 Lotta Atsye, The Chief’s Daughter Of The Laguna Pueblo, 1904
Image source: Hooverpaul
#7 In 1973, Masahisa Fukase Photographed His Wife, Yōko Wanibe, Leaving For Work Each Day From Their Apartment Window In Tokyo
Image source: Lepke2011
#8 My Grandmother And Her Sisters. Mexico Around 1940’s
Image source: Taniaarth
#9 A Photograph Of A Little Boy Carrying A Newborn Lamb, In Scotland, 1932
Image source: WorldHub995
#10 The Infamous “Kids Table”
Image source: valuecolor
#11 Summer 1972, Boston, Massachusetts: “Abortion Is A Woman’s Right”
Image source: Hooverpaul
#12 A Mother And Daughter Hamming It Up For The Camera, Ca 1900
Image source: UrbanAchievers6371
#13 My Grandpa Trying To Read The Newspaper With A Kitten Sitting On His Shoulder. Early 1980s
Image source: rhit06
#14 Women Fighting For Healthcare And Abortion Rights In The 1960s
Image source: Hooverpaul
#15 A Sami Woman, Toddler, And Infant In Lapland, Finland, 1917
Image source: WorldHub995
#16 My Grandmother’s Sister Tamara 🤩
Image source: only_to_fly
#17 Actors Who Were To Portray The Munchkins In The Wizard Of Oz Arriving At Mgm Studios In 1938
Image source: Dhorlin
#18 My Grandmother’s Modeling Photos 1940s-50s
Image source: Jlr1
#19 My Grandfather In New Orleans, Late 50’s
Image source: Amodernhousehusband
#20 A Picture Of 3 Sisters Taken Almost 100 Years Ago
Image source: jocke75
#21 A Girl Walking Her Rabbit In A Summer Kimono. Shinagawa, Japan, 1973
Image source: MunakataSennin
#22 My Teenage Mom In The 70s With Her First Horse, One She Paid For By Working Underage At A Movie Theater
Image source: Pugpickle
#23 My Grandparents Wedding In 1937, Star Junction, Pa, He Was From Germany She Was From Sicily
Image source: pioneergirl1965
#24 My Uncle’s Wwii Sketchbook
Image source: CapsuCraft
#25 My Mother And Me At A Picnic. Seoul, South Korea. C. 1977
Image source: fodianora
#26 Between 1900 And 1930, A Destitute Seed Pedlar Took More Than 5000 Photographs Of Daily Life In An Isolated Valley To The South Of The Alps. They Were Rediscovered Long After His Death. I Can’t Convey How Amazing These Images Are
Image source: dannydutch1
#27 My Grandparents, “Lou Buck” And “Hootie” 1953. She Was My Last Living Grandparent, And We Said Goodbye To Her Today
Image source: innosins
#28 Portrait Of A Family. Florida, Circa 1900
Image source: jocke75
#29 One Of My Favorite Pictures Of My Father. I’m Guessing He Was In His Early 20s In This Picture
Image source: hellomyko
#30 My Grandma With Me In My Swanky Panorama Pram, 1976
Image source: higglety_piggletypop
#31 Callie Campbell, 11 Years Old, Picks 75 To 125 Pounds Of Cotton A Day, And Totes 50 Pounds Of It When Sack Gets Full. “No, I Don’t Like It Very Much.” Photographed In Potawotamie County, Oklahoma. On October 16, 1916
Image source: Empty-Current-8500
#32 Plain Clothes Detective Foils Razor Yielding Thug In Glasgow, Scotland, 1971
Image source: ErskineLoyal
#33 Photo Taken In Front Of The Colosseum, 1897
Image source: theanti_influencer75
#34 My Grandmother, Circa 1957. Picture Taken By My Grandfather
Image source: Beatingmeat7716
#35 My Grandmother As A Child, Late 30s-Early 40s, Toronto
Image source: AntiqueCattle
#36 Fleet Street. London 1897
Image source: jocke75
#37 My Nana, On Her 30th Birthday. July 19, 1975
Image source: pEter-skEeterR45
#38 Child In Her Pedal Car, Ca. 1922
Image source: Hooverpaul
#39 My Grandmother In 1942 And My Mother In 1982 Wearing The Same Wedding Dress On Their Special Day
Image source: serand62
#40 My Grandma And Great Aunt As Little Girls (1940s Or Late 1930s)
Image source: castfire
#41 I Found These Photos While Thrifting And Reunited Them With Family
Image source: LittleGoldenBearx
#42 My Dad And His Best Friend. We Think The Picture Was Taken In 1972
Image source: Present-Arm-6023
#43 My Grandmother Photographed By Her Father (Circa Late 1940s)
Image source: Acceptable_Rule_7590
#44 My Mom As A Teenager With A Moose Calf In Alaska, 1952
Image source: Area_49
#45 My Grandmother (1925-)
Image source: TheCatsMe0wth
#46 Having A Little Fun On The Beach In 1940
Image source: UrbanAchievers6371
#47 A Diver Photographed After Ascending From The Oily Interior Of The Sunken Battleship Uss Arizona. Photograph Taken At Pearl Harbor, Hawaii In The Days Following The Attack On Pearl Harbor In December 1941
Image source: jocke75
#48 My Wife At The Berlin Zoo
Image source: Kawfene1
#49 White Family Mistaken For Black In 1955 Florida
Image source: CryptographerKey2847
#50 Alien Costume My Dad Made For My Brother In 1979
Image source: BigBlackSabbathFlag
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