A heartbreaking picture that appeared in American newspapers in the late 1940s depicted four young children.
Lucille Chalifoux and her husband Ray faced unemployment, imminent eviction, and seemingly no other options.
But perhaps there was more to it than the media let on. In the end, the children were given the opportunity to tell their stories.
Children for sale
On August 5, 1948, an advertisement appeared in the Vidette-Messenger of Valparaiso, Indiana, showing a distraught-looking mother with her back to the reader and her head in her hands.
Look inside. Her four young children were behind her on the steps with a sign that read: “4 children for sale.” The announcement eventually made it to American newspapers across the country. Wisconsin, Michigan, and Ohio to Pennsylvania and New York.
It was then published in newspapers in Louisiana, Texas, and several other states.
The youngsters for sale, five-year-old Rae and six-year-old Lana were seen sitting on the top step. On the bottom step were Sue Ellen (2) and her brother Milton (4). It turns out that Lucille is expecting her fifth child, who is also sent away. Many of the children do not even remember their biological mother at the photo shoot. However, others met Lucille later in life and discovered that necessity may not have been the driving force behind her decision. Each child for sale has a unique, fascinating, and occasionally tumultuous past to share. Except for Lana, who died of cancer in 1998.
Meet potential buyers
Instead, they reached out to Lana’s family to try to get as much information as possible about their older sister’s life. While it is unfortunate that they were never able to reconnect with their older sister, Rae, and Milton were able to spend time together throughout their lives. There is no clear evidence that Rae and Milton were bought or adopted, but were moved to live with John and Ruth Zoeteman in DeMotte, IN. According to Rae, Lucille sold her for $2. It looked like she had to keep the bingo money because the man she was seeing didn’t seem to want anything to do with her kids. Then she put the children up for sale.
Rae and Milton became Beverly and Kenneth after being raped and pregnant. After a while, they shared a home until Rae was sent to a Michigan institution for unwed mothers. Her daughter, who was later adopted, died. Rae recalled that their childhood was “violent” and “loveless” and that the only time she felt her father’s presence was in his final stages of life. She recalled, “They kept tying us up.” “When I was a little boy, we were field workers. At the age of 21, when she briefly reconnected with Lucille, she said she felt “no love”.
Reuniting with children for sale
A few years later, she gave birth to a son, Lance Gray, who played a key role in allowing her to communicate with her siblings on social media. “They don’t like them anymore,” he said, referring to his mother.
“Tough as nails.
Milton emailed her a photo of the children that was for sale. She said, “My brother in Tucson somehow sent it to my email.” “I immediately went ‘Oh my God’ after logging in. I’m that person.”
Milton
Meanwhile, Milton embarks on his own difficult journey, arriving in Tuscon. One of the children for sale, Milton, said: “There are a lot of things about my childhood that I don’t remember.” He was informed that he would be beaten, handcuffed, and sold into slavery on his first day with his adoptive parents. “I said I would go along with it,” he said. “I didn’t know what a slave was, I was just a child. Milton would endure further mistreatment as he was kept in a barn where he was fed only peanut butter and milk. One day Milton asked why he was being treated this way and the answer was “to keep him in line”. He heard John say, “If you’re afraid, you’ll listen to me.” He then went to high school, lived with his aunt and uncle, and helped deliver eggs.
Milton was eventually given to his friend’s family once his adoptive parents were recognized as foster parents. “I thought I was adopted,” he claimed. “I don’t know how they got away with it.” After solving a number of problems, he ended up in a psychiatric hospital and was diagnosed with schizophrenia. After his release in 1967, he moved to Chicago and then Tucson. “We moved to Arizona and my in-laws gave us $500,” the man said.
Learning about Lucille
Milton and his sister also got to know their biological mother long after she put her kids up for sale. In 1970, he was with her for a month. However, he and her spouse got into a fight at the moment, and the husband was ultimately taken into custody. As a result, Lucille ejected Milton. He said, “My birth mother, she never did love me.” “She didn’t express regret for selling me.
She hated me so severely that she didn’t give a damn.”
Ellen Sue
Milton and his sister also got to know their biological mother long after she put her children up for sale. In 1970, he was with her for a month. However, at this point, she and her husband had an argument, and the husband was eventually taken into custody. As a result, Lucille fired Milton. He said, “My birth mother, she never loved me.” “She showed no remorse for selling me.
She hated me so much she didn’t care.’
Despite the lack of any official adoption documents, Sue Ellen believed that she had been “legitimately” adopted by a couple named Johnson. Sadly, she died in 2013 of lung disease, but not before she and Rae reconciled. It’s unbelievable. “I love her,” Sue Ellen wrote of her sister. “She must be in a burning hell,” she continued, referring to her biological mother.
A gruesome picture from 1948 of four children marked ‘for sale’ on the front steps of their home illustrated the serious family and social problems many people faced at the time. The terrifying and subtle reality behind this disturbing image is made clear in the following paragraphs, narrated by Sue Ellen, Rae, and Milton. Despite the public uproar and media attention the film generated, the individual experiences of these children were fraught with emotional pain, abuse, and neglect. Rae and Milton’s accounts of their difficult upbringings and violent encounters highlight the dire consequences of a system that neglected to protect vulnerable children.
The siblings’ efforts to reunite, especially in light of Lance Gray’s social media reach, demonstrate the resilience of families torn apart by their need for understanding and connection. Milton’s life story paints a grim picture of the structural flaws that allowed him to experience such immense grief. It is characterized by extreme abuse and a terminal diagnosis of mental illness. His strained relationship with his mother, Lucille, is a reflection of the emotional vacuum her actions created and the grief the children still carry.
Sue Ellen’s final years, characterized by a renewed relationship with Rae, provide a poignant counterpoint to the resentment they held for their mother. Her sad death in 2013 and her intense feelings for Lucille serve to highlight the lasting effects of their childhood tragedy on their adult lives. Taken together, these stories paint a picture of suffering, resilience, and the profound impact that abuse and desertion have on people. The stories of Sue Ellen, Milton, and Rae not only illuminate their individual challenges but also serve as a sobering reminder of the importance of empathy and support networks for struggling individuals.