Louie Dreith, Host Of "The Country Church" On 99.3, Dead At 81

By Mike Perleberg Louie Dreith in the spare bedroom where he recorded his weekly program, The Country Church, for Eagle Country 99.3. Dreith died Thursday, June 9 at the age of 81. Photo courtesy Journal Publications, Hillsboro, Illinois. (Lawrenceburg, Ind.) – Beloved Eagle Country 99.3 radio host Louie Dreith has died. Dreith was the longtime host of The Country Church, heard here every Sunday morning. His son, Mike Dreith, says Louie died of natural causes at his home in Bunker Hill, Illinois Thursday evening. He was 81. Louie was born to George and Ruth Dreith in Berthoud, Colorado in 1934. “T.G.I.S. Thank God it’s Sunday,” Dreith would open each of his radio programs. Dreith’s church and southern gospel music show first came on the Eagle Country 99.3 airwaves in the mid-1990s when he lived in Sunman. The program developed a multitude of loyal listeners who tuned in to hear Louie talk between songs about the musical groups, poems, honoring service members, and “my ex-hometown of Sunman, Indiana” – among many other musings. The Country Church first began in 1984 when Dreith purchased a radio station in Alton, Illinois. Mike Dreith says his father developed the show’s format and chose that music because he believed it would develop a following. The former Bethalto, Illinois police chief moved to southeast Indiana in 1995 to take a job as the assistant director of security operations at Argosy Casino (now Hollywood Casino) in Lawrenceburg. He met with 99.3 FM WSCH’s then owner John Schuler and was given the Sunday morning slot producing a live gospel music show. "He came to me and described the show," WSCH founder John Schuler recalls. "I thought it sounded good. It took off like wildfire. It was the most popular program we ever had." While a Hoosier, Louie made his home in Sunman. Dreith eventually retired to Bunker Hill, Illinois in 2005. “He loved the friends he made in the Sunman area,” says former co-worker and longtime Eagle Country 99.3 on-air personality Bob Shannon.  “I remember we helped him pack up to go back to Illinois. We gave him a recorder and a little mixing board so he could keep doing the show.” Dreith’s last in-person visit to southeast Indiana was in 2007. He met with fans of his show at the Aurora Farmers Fair that year. Dreith had been wheelchair bound for the past five years, son Mike says citing a bout with polio his father suffered as a teenager. Despite the health issues, Dreith continued to produce two weekly radio shows – one for Eagle Country 99.3 and another for WSMI-FM in Illinois – from a studio he had set up in a spare bedroom. “He had a strong conviction of faith. For him, that program was his church experience. Quite honestly, he lived through that music,” Mike Dreith says. Every show, Louie made it a point to share each hour with listeners his mailing address. Mike says his father loved all the fan letters he would receive. “He would get a ton of mail,” Mike says. “That’s what really compelled him over the last 10 years of his life.” Private services for Louie Dreith will take place in Bethalto, Illinois. He is survived by son Mike, daughter Barbara, two brothers, two sisters, six grandchildren, and four great grandchildren. You can find his full obituary here. The Country Church will continue to run the next couple Sunday mornings on Eagle Country 99.3, as Dreith recorded his final few shows prior to his death. Louie ended each of his shows with this farewell message as an instrumental tune by hall of fame pianist Floyd Cramer played: “We’ll see you next week, the good Lord willing and the creek don’t rise and the snow don’t get too high. Louie Dreith. God bless. Put the coffee on. I’m on my way home.”