Where’d she go?
The Elevator Lady
The Elevator Queen
The Lady in the Lift
Who?
Cherie Berry, head of the North Carolina Labor Department
Pronounced Sherry Berry, of course
For over twenty years her face was in every elevator in North Carolina verifying the inspection of the carriage, pulleys, hydraulics, brakes
For over twenty years, if you entered any elevator in the Old North State, you saw her
Memes
T-shirts
Jokes
The most well known signature in North Carolina
The most well known face in North Carolina
She assured any Tar Heel and anyone visiting North Carolina that the rider would not fall to his death in the elevator shaft

There she is in her signature red pointing to a black and white picture
She upgraded to color with a red jacket and blonded hair
The most famous visage in North Carolina
Recently, we learned she retired
The current head of the labor department’s photograph is slowing replacing mon Cherie
He’s not as recognizable
Average white guy
Mon Cherie’s cherry jacket stood out
As the new dude supplants mon Cherie, elevators with her picture in them have now turned into collectors items
Were I to be in such an elevator, I might swipe the inspection certificate and frame it so mon Cherie’s visage could kindly remind me that I would not be plunging to my death
There is a t-shirt company based out of Charlotte, NC, that puts a silk screened likeness of Ms. Berry on it
The caption states “Cherie Berry Gives Me A Lift”
Not any more, though
Being my second favorite state, being a proud UNC graduate, being the father of children who attended camp in North Carolina, and, now, being a father of a Tar Heel, I have flat logged some hours in North Carolina
I have flat logged a lot of time with mon Cherie smiling at me from the corner of the inspection certificates
That she is gone from mechanical hoisters in the Vale of Humility makes my life a little less, well, lifted
Her Twitter handle is Elevator Queen
That she was, is, and forever shall be
You are so right and her name is known by anyone who lived in the Old North State. Will miss seeing her name on every ride.
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