A view of Red Bank from Paris — Charlie, that is tony senk Staff Writer From a strategically positioned chair on his front porch at 181 East Bergen Place, Charlie Paris has seen it all. One of Red Bank’s resident historians and the No. 1 follower of Red Bank Catholic High School sports, Paris has had more than his share of romps and remembrances around Red Bank over the years. In one era, he saw a borough that featured Sal’s Restaurant, the then Strand Theater, the City Bakery and the Red Bank Register. In a later era, he would see his favorite borough become what he calls "a place on the rise with many good features." Though his surname may evoke images of one of Europe’s most romantic cities, Paris loves it best here in Red Bank. Ever loyal, he is, in every sense of the phrase, a hometown boy. In fact, you can’t get more hometown than Paris. Not only has he lived in the same borough for all of his 72 years, but he has lived on the same street and in the same house, too. Though he suffered a paralyzing stroke in November 1989, Paris continues to prove the adage that you can’t keep a good man down. Whether he is discussing the ups and downs of Red Bank, the current state of professional or local high school sports, music or life in general, Paris is never at a loss for an opinion. He has rubbed elbows with the likes of former Los Angeles Dodger manager Tommy Lasorda; Red Bank’s favorite son, Count Basie; and boxers Jack Dempsey and Larry Holmes. But his fondest acquaintances are many of the folks he met in Red Bank, many of whom helped the borough — and Paris — become what they are today. People like his late sister, Marion Catherine Paris, who loved Red Bank as much as she loved the Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers, or Martha Carey, the managing editor of the Eatontown Sentinel, a newspaper Paris wrote for starting in 1947. Or James I. Kelsey, his professor of English at Monmouth Junior College (now Monmouth University), which is his alma mater. R. Barry Kamm also belongs on this list. He was the sports editor of the Long Branch Daily Record, where Paris also served as a reporter, starting in 1950. Sister Mary Agnes belongs there, too. She was a Sister of Mercy who helped keep a young Charlie Paris on the straight and narrow many years ago when he was a student at Red Bank Catholic High School. Even Shannon Kelly, former editor of The Hub and his neighbor, made Paris’ list. Paris credits her as the person who got him "back into writing" after his sister died in 1991. It would only seem right that a person as observant and opinionated as Paris would wind up writing for a living. So, after a stint in the Army in 1946 and graduation from college in 1949, with a journalism degree in hand, Paris set out to carve out his niche in the world. For 50 years, he covered high school sports for the Eatontown Sentinel and the Long Branch Daily Record. He always followed his beloved Red Bank Catholic Caseys. Even today, Paris follows the RBC sports scene … well … religiously. "I loved it in 1954 when the Caseys’ football team went undefeated. First time in the school’s history," he proudly recalled. "Or when, on December 4, 1978, RBC was the first parochial school to be admitted to the Shore Conference. That was really a big milestone back then." Paris is equally excited about today’s RBC girls’ sports. He said he sees a dynasty being built and that much of the credit goes to Jack Rafter, who was the school’s athletic director from 1964 to 1995. Paris said he doesn’t agree with the way the Shore Conference high school football games are scheduled today, with emphasis on division play, because, he said, "it destroys traditional rivalries, like RBC versus Red Bank Regional." Nevertheless, Paris’ enthusiasm for high school athletics has never waned. Nor has his longtime and still-continuing love affair with the Dodgers, both the Brooklyn and Los Angeles varieties. "I went to my first game on(August 13, 1946, the year Jackie (Robinson) broke in," he recalled. "My sister, Marion, and I went to spring training at Dodgertown in Vero Beach, Florida, every year from 1982 to 1989. Marion appeared on a radio station down there in 1989, talking about the Dodgers. She was pretty outspoken, I remember. She followed Tommy Lasorda on the radio. He was quite an act to follow." Paris said his favorite Dodger of all time was Pee Wee Reese. "He was great with the fans and was especially great with kids," Paris noted. "He was with the Dodgers for 18 years. I loved (Sandy) Koufax, too. I wrote in a column in the Daily Record that he was a Hall of Fame person." In answer to the inevitable question about the Dodgers departure from Brooklyn, Paris wistfully said, "I was really unhappy when they left. But if you put yourself in [owner] Walter O’Malley’s position, he was a businessman and did what he felt he had to do. But some of the Flatbush Faithful never got over it. I called Ebbets Field baseball’s little green acre." Commenting on the state of the game today, Paris said he feels that baseball players "make too much money," that ballplayers are "spoiled" and that baseball has lost some of its charm because of free agency, long-term contracts and too much corporate ownership. Yet through it all, he still loves the game and said he often remembers the good old days when he and his sister would travel the country from Anaheim Stadium in California to Fenway Park in Boston to see the national pastime action. To prove the point, Paris has turned one room in his house into a veritable shrine to the Dodgers. There are photos of Marion and him with Lasorda, and Dodger pennants, baseballs, bats and posters are all around. But baseball is only one of Paris’ premier pastimes. Like Professor Harold Hill, Paris is a music man. "I remember Count Basie," said Paris. "He lived on Mechanic Street. From 1935 to 1984, he was, without question, the most explosive force in jazz." Count Basie Memorial Park was dedicated in 1987, the Carlton Theater was renamed in his honor, and the Count Basie Learning Center soon became a reality. Paris said about the gestures honoring Basie, "It was a great tribute to a great man with a great talent. He sure made a lot of people smile." Paris was one of them. "I grew up in the big band era," he noted. "I really loved that music, you know. You could understand lyrics to songs back then. Guys like Glenn Miller, Woody Herman, Tommy Dorsey, Lawrence Welk, Harry James — they were great. "I don’t think kids today benefit a whole lot from the music they hear now," Paris added. "It’s not all bad, though. The Backstreet Boys and ’N Sync are good. Parents just need to be more selective in what their kids listen to and whom they follow as role models." For a young newspaperman named Charlie Paris, his role models, journalistically speaking, were people like Art Kamin, former editor of the Red Bank Register, and many of the reporters who worked there. "There were more female reporters than men at that paper," Paris said. "I remember them all. They were dedicated reporters and clear writers, and they were good at their jobs. I was a big fan of the Register, but then, any writer would be." But the woman who most influenced Paris was his sister, Marion. Though she died in 1991, she was recognized, in part, for her lifetime of good deeds a few years ago. Paris said that in 1997, Paris Hall, a facility at Woodstock Academy, a Catholic elementary school in Woodstock, Md., was dedicated in memory of his sister. "Marion was an honor student at Red Bank Catholic, a humanitarian, a role model for women and one of God’s loveliest creatures," he said. "Certainly, the dedication of Paris Hall is something that I’ll never forget." And considering how much Paris has had to remember in his 72 years, that’s really saying something.