The image was first published in The Vidette-Messenger of Valparaiso, Indiana on August 5, 1948. The children appeared arranged and somewhat bewildered, while their pregnant mother avoided the camera.

The caption depicted a sorrowful scene: 

"A big 'For Sale' sign in a Chicago yard mutely tells the tragic story of Mr. and Mrs. Ray Chalifoux, who face eviction from their apartment. With no place to turn, the jobless coal truck driver and his wife decide to sell their four children."

Mrs. Lucille Chalifoux turned away from the camera, as her children looked on with a mix of curiosity and confusion. Lana, aged 6, and Rae, aged 5, stood on the top step, while Milton, aged 4, and Sue Ellen, aged 2, were positioned below.

Some relatives accused the mother of receiving payment to orchestrate the photo, which may have been a part of the story. Unfortunately, Mrs. Chalifoux was indeed earnest about selling her children, highlighting the severity of their desperate circumstances.

In less than two years, all the children captured in the photo, including the unborn baby carried by their mother, were sold to separate families.

RaeAnn Mills shared that her biological mom gave her away for $2 so she could play bingo. A couple named John and Ruth Zoeteman gave that $2.

RaeAnn Mills and her brother Milton were sold to the Zoeteman family on August 27, 1950. Renamed Beverly and Kenneth, they found little solace in their new home. Instead, they endured harsh treatment, often being confined and compelled to toil in the fields. 

On his first day in their home, John Zoeteman Milton him up and beat him before telling the young boy that he was expected to serve as a slave on the family's farm.

"I said I'd go along with that," Milton said. "I didn't know what a slave was. I was only a kid."

While it appears that RaeAnn and Milton were never formally adopted by their tormentors, their brother David, who was still in their mother's womb in the photo, was legally adopted by Harry and Luella McDaniel, residing only a few miles away.

David, who thinks his adoptive parents were firm but kind and helpful, recalls riding his bike to visit his brothers and sisters and unlocking them before returning home.

RaeAnn at age 17, ran away from home after a brutally traumatic event happened to her. When she was a young teenager, she was taken away by someone, which resulted in a pregnancy. She had to go to a special place for girls who were going to have babies, and when she came back, her baby was adopted by someone else.

As Milton got older, he responded to the beatings, not having enough food, and other mistreatments by getting very angry and acting out violently.

A judge said he was a danger to people in society, so he had to spend many years in a place for people with mental health problems after having to pick between that and a place like a jail for young people.

Sue Ellen and her sister RaeAnn Mills reunited at Chalufoux’s home in Hammond. Photo taken in 2013.

The brothers and sisters didn't know what had happened to Lana and Sue Ellen for a while. But many years later, they found them again on social media. Lana had passed away in 1998 because of cancer, but Sue Ellen Chalifoux was still alive.

Sue Ellen grew up not too far from where she was born, in a neighborhood called East Side in Chicago. When she talked about her real mom, she said, "She deserves to suffer in a fiery place."

The lady in the picture got married again after giving away or selling her five kids and had four more daughters.

RaeAnn Mills holds the dress she was sold in as a child. It is the only physical item she has from the time with her birth mother. Photo taken in 2013.

When her first children visited her later on, they say she didn't show any love for them or feel sorry for letting them go.

David McDaniel said his mom's coldness shows how tough life was back then. "When my mom saw me, she said, 'You look just like your father'," McDaniel remembered. "She never said sorry. But back then, life was about surviving. Who are we to judge? We all make mistakes. Maybe she was trying to protect her children, didn't want them to suffer."

Ultimately, McDaniel’s life was stable and safe, if a bit strict. He described himself as a rebellious teen and eventually ran away at age 16 before spending 20 years in the military.

After that, he spent his life working as a truck driver.

Milton saw things differently. "My real mom never loved me. She didn't say sorry for giving me away. She hated me so much, she didn't care."