Retro Funny Cherie Berry Lifts Me shirt

Remember those old, cheesy, almost deliberately hilarious Cherie Berry “Lifts You Up” signs in North Carolina elevators? The whole thing was just wonderfully bizarre, wasn’t it? I recall being a kid, crammed into a tiny elevator with my folks at the mall, and there she was, this smiling face, promising a ride to whatever floor awaited. It always felt a little surreal, as though she was personally ensuring the elevator wouldn’t plummet. My younger brother, bless his ass, actually believed she was physically assisting the elevator.

I found them strangely comforting, though. Living in a state where things often felt a little… old-fashioned, those signs were a consistent presence. They weren’t particularly artistic, not especially modern. They were quintessentially North Carolinian: simple, straightforward, and a tad eccentric, much like many of the people I grew up alongside. It’s funny the things you latch onto as a kid, the small details that become ingrained in your memory.

The sheer unlikeliness of it all just made it more endearing. It’s not like the governor of California puts her picture on the elevator notices. The idea of a state labor commissioner becoming a de facto elevator spokesperson was so specific to that place. It spoke volumes about the state’s laid-back character and its propensity for quirks. Thinking about it now, it feels almost like a bygone era, before every branding strategy had to be perfectly targeted and data-driven.

There’s a certain humor in the fact that these signs were considered a mandatory part of the elevator experience. What other state does this? It’s a small thing, honestly, but it created an unspoken shared experience between people from all walks of life. I even remember, as an adolescent, trying to impersonate Cherie Berry’s smile when I was feeling mischievous with my friends. We thought it was so absurd and endlessly amusing. I can’t deny a pang of nostalgia when I think of those signs now. I haven’t lived in North Carolina for years, and the world is vastly different. Even the elevators have changed – they look more sleek, with more digital displays, but they don’t have that familiar, slightly silly picture staring back at you. When you move away from home, you start to miss even the strangest aspects.