Mike Easley took time out for two inductions.

The former governor used a state plane at least twice to present a North Carolinian with the Order of the Long Leaf Pine, according to state flight logs:

* Joe and Mary Hendrick, parents of Nascar team owner Rick Hendrick, Concord, June 1, 2004

* Bob Timberlake, painter, Lexington, Jan. 19, 2006

In both cases, the listed purpose of the flight was to present the award. 

During his two terms, Easley inducted more than 4,000 people into the order. 

Hat Tip: Andy Curliss 

Former Gov. Mike Easley inducted more than 4,000 North Carolinians.

Between January 2001 and January 2009, the two-term Democratic governor added state residents into the Order of the Long Leaf Pine at a rate of nearly 10 a week, or more than one a day.

Notable recipients included former U.S. Attorney Janice McKenzie Cole, Broadway costumer designer William Ivey Long, architectural historian Catherine Bishir, Charlotte Observer columnist Jack Betts and painter Bob Timberlake.

A number of politicians also made the list: former state Sen. Aaron Plyler, former state Rep. Zeno Edwards Jr., former UNC system president Bill Friday, Supreme Court Justice Patricia Timmons-Goodson, former Justice I. Beverly Lake Jr., former Wake County Commissioner Betty Ann Knudsen, Charlotte City Councilwoman Susan Burgess and former Wendell Mayor Lucius Jones.

A few on the list are not North Carolinians: civil rights advocate Coretta Scott King, actor Danny Glover and Navy aerobatic pilots the Blue Angels.

Also on the list: his in-laws, Ann and James Pipines, fundraiser Louis Sewell, and several members of his Cabinet. The list does not include Robert Lee Guy, however.

See anyone else interesting on the list? Post in the comments below or e-mail dome@newsobserver.com.

After the jump, the number given each year.

   Comments (14)

Sen. Fred Smith shouldn't expect money from Bob Timberlake.

Although the famed North Carolina painter once rented Smith's ancestral home along the Yadkin River, he has not given any money to gubernatorial candidates in the past 15 years.

Except for a $500 donation to Tom Gilmore, a candidate for the Democratic nomination for agriculture commissioner in 2004, Timberlake has only given in federal races, according to campaign finance records.

The artist and furniture designer gave to both Republicans — U.S. House candidate Jay Helvey, Sen. Elizabeth Dole and her husband Bob's presidential bids — and Democrats — U.S. House candidate Martin Lancaster, Senate candidate Terry Sanford and Senate candidate Erskine Bowles' 2004 campaign.

By far, he's given the most to Dole, a total of $5,000 to her presidential and Senate campaigns and her Leadership Circle PAC. In all, he's given $1,500 to other Republicans, $1,000 to the Republican National Committee in 1996 and $1,950 to Democrats.

A painting from the mid-1970s by famed North Carolina painter Bob Timberlake shows a farm that belonged to the ancestors of state Sen. Fred Smith, a candidate for the Republican nomination for governor. The original, owned by a private collector, is on display at the Bob Timberlake Gallery in Lexington through July 28 as part of a 70th birthday celebration. Prints are sold on the private market for around $4,500. (Courtesy Bob Timberlake Gallery)

Sen. Fred Smith's ancestral home was Bob Timberlake's studio.

The candidate for the Republican gubernatorial nomination has traced his family tree back to his great-great-great-great grandfather, German immigrant Caspar Schmit.

Schmit, later changed to Smith, came to the colonies in 1750, working as an indentured servant in Philadelphia for a few years before saving enough money to buy a farm along the Yadkin River in Davidson County.

The farm, called Riverwood, passed out of the Smith family in the early 1900s. In the 1970s, a log cabin there was leased by Timberlake, a North Carolina native known for his watercolors of rural landscapes.

Smith, who now lives in Clayton, owns prints of all of Timberlake's Riverwood paintings, and named a development in Johnston County after the farm.

"I've had lunch with Bob in a barbecue restaurant," he said. "He's a great guy."