Following is one of the Biographies and Stories which where gathered by Charles Sumner McKamy in the 1950s for publication in a Crawford County History Book. Unfortunately he passed away before the book was published.
L. Burdette Walkington, Pastor of the First Methodist Church, Robinson, Illinois from 1952 to 1957 is of English Ancestry. Three of his grandparents were born and reared in England, having come to America in their teens. He first saw the light of day in a country home south of Kinmundy, Marion County, Illinois having been born in the home of Lyman and Carrie Ravens Walkington. This event took place on September 28, 1906.
Here on the farm, Burdette grew to young manhood. He attended the one room country school, known as the Elder School, which now has been consolidated and the children of this community are transported to a larger school. Upon graduating from Grade School he attended the High School in Kinmundy, Illinois where he graduated in 1925. The summer of 1925 this young high school graduate took the State Examination and received a certificate which permitted him to teach in the grade schools of Marion County. His first school was the Kagy School, a country school located northwest of Salem, Illinois. Then he was employed to teach in Ozark, Illinois in Johnson County, where he was now the Principal and taught only the upper grades. This position he held for two years.
However during his high school days, this young man had been definitely called to be a minister of Jesus Christ. He had been reared in a Cumberland Presbyterian Home and attended the Omega Presbyterian church near the country home. During a revival meeting held in the Pleasant Grove Methodist Church nearby, as a boy of thirteen, Burdette was converted and a few weeks later became a member of that church.
Although he had received this definite call to preach he continued to prepare to pursue the teaching profession, by attending the Southern Illinois Normal University at Carbondale, Illinois during the summer terms. While attending the Youth Institute on the campus of McKendree College, Lebanon, Illinois, in August, 1928 he definitely decided to give his life to the ministry.
In the fall of 1929 he enrolled as a Sophomore in McKendree College and on the anniversary of his birth, September 28, 1929, at the Conference of the Methodist Church held in Harrisburg, Illinois, he received his first appointment as pastor. This assignment was to be Student Pastor of the First Methodist Church, Tilden, Illinois, a position he held until September 1932 after he had graduated from McKendree College in the spring of that year.
During his pastorate in Tilden, L.B. (as he was now known by all his associates and friends) met Miss Elizabeth Bartley, daughter of John H. and Myrtle Bartley and after a brief courtship they were married on January 28, 1931 in the First Methodist Church, Tilden, Illinois. On April 17, 1932, a baby boy, Charles W., was born into the parsonage home.
After the college days came years of busy but happy pastorates. The first move this family had to make was to a four-point circuit at Beaver Creek, Illinois, but the stay was brief because after one year they were transferred to First Methodist Church, Christopher, Ill. Then the family was assigned to go to Trinity Methodist Church, West Frankfort and while here on January 29, 1938 the second son, Lindell B. was born.
After two years as pastor in Carterville, Illinois, they went to the extreme southern part of the state and was pastor for four years at Mounds, Illinois. After fifteen months at Second Methodist Church, Centralia, the appointment was made to go to the East Alton Methodist Church, East Alton, Illinois. Here the Walkingtons lived for five and a half years. During these years Charles graduated from the Wood River-East Alton High School and enlisted in the U.S. Air Force. Lindell graduated from the East Alton Grade School and is now in his third year in the Robinson High School.
Now came the call to become the pastor of the First Methodist Church in Robinson, Illinois and at the time of this writing is still pastor of this fine church.