AUDIO: WSCH Co-Founder John Schuler Recalls Early Days In Station History

John Schuler joined Bubba Bo on air Thursday morning to help kick of Eagle Country 99.3's 50th anniversary celebration.

(Lawrenceburg, Ind.) – Fifty years ago a man named John Schuler and his wife, Barbara, took a chance and launched WSCH-FM.

It was October 29, 1970 when WSCH first hit the air.

Now known as Eagle Country 99.3, Your Hometown Radio Station is celebrating its 50th anniversary all of 2020.

To help kick-off the year-long celebration, John Schuler joined Bubba Bo on air Thursday morning to talk about the history of the station.

“I remember the first day very well,” Schuler said. “We had worked a long time to get our construction permit and that was a happy day. Six o’clock on Thursday, October 29 when we brought WSCH to life.”

HEAR BUBBA BO'S FULL INTERVIEW WITH JOHN SCHULER IN THE AUDIO PLAYER BELOW

When WSCH first hit the air, the primary listening area was Dearborn, Ohio, Ripley and Switzerland counties.

Eagle Country 99.3 still covers those areas today, plus northern Kentucky and southwest Ohio.

“It’s a good feeling to know that we started something that lasts and has endured and prospered through the years,” Schuler added.

Schuler recalled the first song that ever played on WSCH. It was “Close to You” by The Carpenters.

“When we first started, we played a mixture of pop and country,” Schuler said. “We did that for awhile and we finally decided just to go with country.”

While Schuler doesn’t remember the first country song that was played on the air, he did recall some of the big hits in October of 1970. Two songs that came to mind were Conway Twitty’s “Hello Darlin” and Lynn Anderson’s “Rose Garden”.

Fifty years later, Kane Brown sits at the top of the country music chart with his hit song “Homesick”. Oddly enough, his music has a pop element to it.