Nine Russell County men were honored Saturday for their years of membership in the Russell Springs Masonic Lodge No. 941 and Jamestown Masonic Lodge No. 284 during a Masonic Family Event at the lodge in Russell Springs.

"This is our time to say thank you for all these men that have given all their time and effort to the lodge," said Bobby Brown, master of the Russell Springs' lodge. "This day was for them."

Receiving 40 year pins of membership were Norman Guffey, Bruce Wade, James Roy, George Owens and Danny Coffey. Receiving 50 year pins of membership were Robert. B Foley, Jr. and Onis Coffey and receiving 60 year pins of membership were Keith Aaron and Arles Hale.

Aaron and Hale became members in 1949 with 10 other men and are the only remaining members from that year.

Freemasonry is the oldest, largest and most prestigious fraternity in the world that builds better men. There are more than 55,000 members in Kentucky located in numerous communities around the Commonwealth, including more than 200 members in Russell County alone.

The lifelong dedication of these men to tenets Masonry is a testament to their moral and personal character and is indicative of all Masons, Brown said.

The event was one of the first joint endeavors between the two local lodges.

Before the membership pin presentations, a pot luck meal was served to the Masons and their families.

Freemasonry is a fraternal organization that dates back to the late 16th and early 17th centuries. Worldwide membership in the organization is estimated at around 5 million, including just under two million in the United States.

The various forms around the world all share moral and metaphysical ideals which include a constitutional declaration of belief in a Supreme Being.

The fraternity is administratively organized into Grand Lodges, each of which governs its own jurisdiction.

Freemasonry uses the metaphors of operative stonemasons' tools and implements, against the allegorical backdrop of the building of King Solomon's Temple, to convey what has been described by both Masons and critics as "a system of morality veiled in allegory and illustrated by symbols."

For more information visit www.grandlodgeofkentucky.org/