One Hundred Years Ago​—1913

THE Watch Tower of January 1, 1913, echoed popular sentiment when it quoted American journalist Herbert Kaufman: “‘Impossibility’ is now an old-fashioned word . . . Almost every dream of the past is a reality today.” The year 1913 dawned on a world optimistic about its future.

One reason for this optimism was the advance of technology. In the United States, for example, the Ford Motor Company opened a new factory in Highland Park, Michigan. Almost overnight, the price of a car fell dramatically, bringing the possibility of car ownership to millions. How was the drop in price achieved? The new factory featured an assembly line. This advancement allowed Ford to assemble its popular Model T automobile in a fraction of the time previously required, thus lowering the cost.

Jehovah’s people were also optimistic but for different reasons. The Bible Students had long heralded 1914 as a pivotal year in human history, and their expectations ran high. Their enthusiastic activity showed that they were not slowing down as that year approached.

In June 1913 a series of conventions began with a one-day convention in Kansas City, Missouri, U.S.A. For the next four weeks, a chartered train carried a happy group of over 200 brothers and sisters across the western United States and Canada. At each convention, newcomers were given the opportunity to request additional information. Thousands responded, and interested ones were later contacted by the Bible Students.

During 1913 the Brooklyn headquarters staff was busy producing the “Photo-Drama of Creation.” This was an eight-hour program of recorded Bible talks and music that were synchronized with colored glass slides and motion pictures. The Bible Students hoped that the “Photo-Drama” would be used to reach millions of interested ones. Although at the time there were only about 5,100 active proclaimers of the good news, their stated purpose was that the program “be given as wide publicity throughout the world as possible.”

What was in store for 1914? How would the “Photo-Drama” be received? What would happen in the fall, at the end of the Gentile Times? The Bible Students eagerly awaited the answers to these questions, confident of Jehovah’s backing.

The impending Great War, later called World War I, would rob the world of its optimism. Technological advancement would not be the answer to the problems that people faced. The next year was to be one of great change for the Bible Students​—and for the entire world.