Mr IGH,
Maybe it was a midwestern thing. My recallection is similiar to yours. Paramounts were very common bikes in the races around the Midwest.
Seemed like 1/2 the riders were sponsered by Schwinn. The red and white jerseys dominated the peloton.

The Chicago/Milwaukee Belgian, German heritage thing was sort of unique as well. The knowledge that was shared by the old timers
was priceless. Not to mention their dedication to building and developing the sport.