Plunk Your Magic Twanger, Froggy!
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(regular)
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An easy walk on a flat, gravel-covered trail ending in a very short but rather steep uphill climb that involves a bit of bushwhacking.
"It's the Buster Brown Show!"
"That's my dog Tige, he lives in a shoe. I'm Buster Brown, look for me there too!"
Those of you who are of a certain age will most likely understand the title of this cache and the above quotes and perhaps even be taken, for just a moment or two, back to the days of your youth. For young whipper-snappers, however, below is a bit of the history of the cache title.
The legendary Froggy the Gremlin made his debut in 1944 on the very popular children's radio program, "Smilin' Ed McConnell's Buster Brown Gang", which was sponsored by Buster Brown Shoes. During each program it was the habit of host Smilin' Ed to sing a novelty song or two while plunking on his magic twanger. The term "plunking" is believed to have come from McConnell's habit of plunking keys on his piano to emphasize the drama of his storytelling.
Froggy, however, was not only the star attraction of the program but was also featured on the cover of many of the Buster Brown comic books collected by children of the 40's and 50's. McConnell used his program to promote the products of his sponsor, Buster Brown Shoes. Every child of that era wished and hoped for a pair of Buster Brown shoes and spent their time reading the free Buster Brown comic books.
Once the TV version of the program premiered in 1950, Froggie began to appear from behind a clock in a puff of smoke, with a greeting of "Hi ya, Kids! Hi ya! Hi ya! Hi ya!", then laughing, hopping from side to side, and behaving in a generally obnoxious fashion. He took great joy in playing practical jokes and dirty tricks and making people look foolish, all to the delight of his young audience. Froggy's companions on the show were Midnight the Cat, Squeeky the Mouse, and Tige the Dog, and each of them appeared on Buster Brown shoe boxes.
Upon the death of Smilin' Ed, Andy Devine was hired as the program's new host and the TV show was renamed "Andy's Gang", making its premier on August 20, 1955. Andy would invite Froggy to come out and behave himself, encouraging him to "Plunk Your Magic Twanger, Froggy!". Of course, in true form, Froggy seldom behaved himself. Even so, the Andy Devine show ran from 1955 to 1960 and this cache is a tip of the hat to Froggy and his gang and has a frog theme in his honor.
For those of you who are not familiar with this section of the canal park, please be aware that there is a shooting range in the vicinity of the canal park trail. The range is laid out so that those using it have their backs to the trail, which is quite safe for walkers, runners, bikers and horseback riders.
Congratulations to early bird Cosmonium on his FTF!!
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Abegu bs gur jngre, qbja ybj naq uvqvat oruvaq.