LA GRANDE — Trish Yerges admits that the finding took her breath away.

The Summerville resident was doing research for a book about Union County road names when she began looking into the history of Palmer Junction Road. She knew that actor Kevin Costner had once lived there but then she discovered that the road’s story was illuminated by more Hollywood star power than she realized.

Yerges learned that there was a timeshare home on Palmer Junction Road where Roy Rogers had once lived.

“That was a big surprise. It was really cool,” said Yerges, co-author with her husband, Dave, of the new book “Historical Guide to Union County, Oregon Roads.”

Trish Yerges said Rogers had a home along a section of road known as “the millionaire’s hill” because the singer and actor lived there. She also discovered that Rogers rode a horse on his Palmer Junction land, one that was reportedly a descendant of Trigger, the famous palomino Rogers rode in many movie appearances. Yerges said that when the horse died, Rogers reportedly buried it at his timeshare property on Palmer Junction Road. She said the owner of the property today has looked for where the horse was buried but has not been able to find it.

Rogers is mentioned in the new book along with Costner, who lived on Palmer Junction Road’s Cabin Creek Ranch. It was complete with a helicopter pad and a backyard pool, said Dave Yerges, who said a La Grande resident that he and his wife know spoke to Costner at the Cabin Creek Ranch. It is not known when Costner lived on Palmer Junction Road, but The Observer did report in its Aug. 19, 1991, edition that the movie star visited the Grande Ronde Hospital emergency room on Aug. 17, 1991, because his wife, Cindy, needed treatment for a scratched eye.

The stories about Rogers and Costner are among many surprising ones the authors recount in their 450-page volume.

Another concerns Upper Perry Lane and its namesake D.W.C. Perry, an engineer, for whom the community of Perry is named. Perry once lived in La Grande but never in the community which today bears his name. Dave Yerges said that in the early 1870s Perry was part of a team of engineers who built a long tunnel under the Andes Mountains of South America. Perry later served as an executive superintendent of the St. Louis World’s Fair which opened May 30, 1904 and ran through Dec. 1, 1904.

“Perry is named after a remarkable person,” Dave Yerges said.

Mysteries the new book lays to rest include one concerning how Morgan Lake got its name — it was named in honor of Thomas Morgan who began working as a shepherd at the age of 10. He later became a major local landowner.

“Readers got familiar with article titles like this: ‘Morgan Buys More Land,’” they write.

Morgan went on to have a long and eventful life and remained active into his 80s.

“Even at age 84, Thomas was making news for the local paper, and it wasn’t his obituary either. He decided he would climb icy Mt. Hood, something on his bucket list,” wrote the authors.

Morgan succeeded in climbing Mount Hood on Aug 11, 1955. After his climb he rushed off to get back to a herd of sheep he was caring for.

“He just loved his sheep, he was a true sheep person,” Trish Yerges said.

Their book answers many questions — but also raises some.

One concerns Catherine Creek Lane, which was named after Catherine Creek. Many have long believed that Catherine Creek was named after Catherine Godley, the daughter of Thomas and Mary Godley, whose family lived near Catherine Creek. The authors, though, have dispelled this notion. Trish Yerges explained that survey maps from 1863 list the creek at the site as Catherine Creek. This was about seven years before the Godleys moved from another state to the Catherine Creek area.

“We have created a new mystery,” Trish Yerges said.

The story behind Gaertner Lane on the north edge of La Grande is another eye opener.

It was named after Emil and Lena Gaertner, who came to Union County after winning a lottery in their home country of Germany. The couple used their winnings to take a ship with family members to Ellis Island and then a train across the United States to Union County.

The couple came after Emil Gaertner wrote a letter to her brother, Paul, in Enterprise to share their good lottery news. Paul Gaertner wrote back, urging his sister and brother-in-law to come to the United States before their lottery winnings were spent. He told them that he would help pay for other family members to come with them.

Dave and Trish Yerges started working on the book about four years ago. They began well versed on local history. Trish has been a correspondent for The Observer since 2005, writing many articles about local history during her tenure. Dave began working at the Mitre’s Touch Gallery, La Grande, in 1993 and later bought the business before retiring in 2021. He published many local history books, several of which he and Trish wrote during his time with the Mitre’s Touch.

The couple’s latest work is based on interviews with many people during the past two decades, unpublished memoirs and Observer archives from 1897 to 1964. The Observer’s archives provided the authors with a significant amount of information.

“For all the criticisms that newspapers must take from their reading public, they are still among the best repositories of histories you’ll ever find and for that they must be commended,” the couple wrote in their introduction.

They said firsthand sources of history are dwindling because of age and time.

“It is with gratitude that we have been able to unearth some stories and solve a mystery or two,” Dave Yerges said.

The couple are glad that their book is out but they do not feel a sense of relief because they had so much fun producing the work.

“It was a labor of love,” Trish Yerges said.

For information on obtaining “Historical Guide to Union County, Oregon Roads,” email the authors at weframe@eoni.com.