In the year 2000, Duluth businessman Monnie Goldfine recorded a voiceover track for his family films, most of which he shot himself between 1939 and 1946. Perfect Duluth Day has divided the footage into three segments:

• Part one: “The Goldfines Go East” depicts a family trip to the World’s Fair.
• Part two: “Duluth Parades, Ski Jumping and Coal Shipping Circa 1941” is a collection of Duluth footage.
• Part three: “Goldfines in the 1940s: Picnics and Fishin’ Trips” features scenes of family and friends at leisure in Duluth or elsewhere in the region.

In 1939, Fannie Goldfine brought her three children — Erwin, Monnie and Sandra — from Duluth to the World’s Fair at Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in Queens, N.Y. “It was the first exposition to be based on the future, with an opening slogan of ‘Dawn of a New Day,'” Wikipedia notes. “It allowed all visitors to take a look at ‘the world of tomorrow.'”

The Goldfine’s travels brought them through Manitowoc, Wis., the mountains of Pennsylvania, Washington, D.C. and Mt. Vernon, Va. before arriving in New York. The World’s Fair footage begins at the 7:25 mark. The trip continued to Boston, where they met Fannie’s husband, Abraham, patriarch of the family.

Erwin died in 2002 at the age of 79; Monnie died in 2009 at 80. Sandra Goldfine Weiner lives in Houston, Texas.

It should be noted there is some evidence suggesting this footage is from 1940 and not 1939. The World’s Fair ran two seasons and closed Oct. 27, 1940. Baseball footage in the film indicates the Goldfines watched the New York Yankees defeat the Cleveland Indians 3-2. According to baseball-reference.com, the only box score that matches that is from Aug. 24, 1940. Bob Feller did indeed pitch for the Indians in that game, as Monnie suggests he might have, and Joe DiMaggio was in the lineup for the Yankees. Lou Gehrig, however, retired early in the 1939 season.

Via Wikipedia, below is a map of the 1939-40 World’s Fair.