Indian Lake, NY vs. Perth, Ontario

Two towns that that are both very small are Indian Lake, New York and Perth Ontario.  The schools are important.  They provide opportunities for growth.  The entertainment is unique in both towns.  The sports are big in both towns.  The weather is changes drastically and plays hand in hand with which sport the citizens play.  Indian Lake and Perth have many similarities and differences, but for the most part, they are different.

            Although there is only one school in the town, Indian Lake makes sure its youth gets a proper education.  This school’s name is the Indian Lake Elementary School and it contains everyone from kindergarteners to twelfth graders.  It is a small school and has many sports fields that smell like freshly mown grass and a playground that was made from a colorful material. Most of the students arrive at the school by bus or by walking.  Students at this school learn many subjects including math, English, science, physical education, and the language that they choose to study.  Therefore, the school provides transportation along with a decent education. 

            Perth’s only school, St. John’s Academy, offers many great educational opportunities for its students.  This school is only from grades nine and up.  Grades eight and younger must be bused to another town.  This school is a Catholic school.  Therefore, students must say morning prayers and attend a school church ceremony on Thursdays.  St. John’s also gives students a chance to stay for a thirteenth year.  In Canada, this is called grade 12X.  Many Canadian students choose to stay the extra year even though it has little to no effect on their college acceptance.  Tyler Ramsbottom was example of one of those students.  The Academy even has sports fields but there is no playground.  Students that attend St. John’s Academy learn English, science, math and physical education.  They also are required by the Canadian government to study the French language.  Overall, Perth is like Indian Lake as far as schools because both towns only have one school, and they provide the opportunity to practice sports.  On the other hand, Perth and Indian Lake are not alike because Perth has grade 12X and also because the students at St. John’s Academy do not have a choice in which foreign language they study.

            Indian Lake does not have a lot of entertainment, but the citizens always find things to enjoy doing.  During the summer, a small one-screen theater opens.  The employees of the theater sell tickets at a cheap price and bring families together for a night of fun.  On Independence Day, citizens have the option to attend the fireworks show that is provided by the town fire department.  The streets get so busy that cars line up all along the main road.  Seeing all of the vehicles is like watching a mother duck that is being followed by all of her little ducklings.  People find spots by the water so that they can get a good view of the nighttime spectacular.  Although this event is fun, it is not the only town gathering that occurs annually.  Every August the town sponsors a motorcycle weekend when thousands of motorcycle enthusiasts come to show off their prized vehicles.  Everyone knows when that weekend has arrived because the air smells of gasoline and the noise is always very loud.  The motorcycles come in all different shapes, sizes, and colors.  Some are lit up with neon lights and others show off their amazing paint jobs.  Kayla Platt even had the chance to see a neon green motorcycle last summer!  The other citizens always seem to enjoy these events and their local movie theater.

            There is a lot of different kinds of entertainment within the town of Perth.  There are no movie theaters, but there is as much shopping in Perth as there is in New York City.  Every street is full of small shops and poutine stands.  The aroma of the cheese, gravy, and french fries from the poutine stands, fill the air.  The locals can take a stroll in the town park or sit in a café.  Perth also has its own celebrations.  To celebrate Christmas, the town has a Christmas parade.  This parade is sponsored by the owners of the local shops and restaurants.   Another form of entertainment in Perth are massages.  This small town has many spas, including the Carriage House Spa.  The entertainment is similar in both towns because Perth and Indian Lake have their own special town celebrations.  The entertainment is also different because Perth offers citizens time for relaxation in their spas and the town’s park, but Indian Lake offers thrills and excitement with fireworks and motorcycle weekends.

            Indian Lake offers citizens the opportunities to play many summer and winter sports.  The town has a little league team that travels all across the Adirondacks.  The proud parents and fans are always holding fund raisers to support the kids and their team.  The most common fundraiser is when the firemen stand in the middle of the road and drivers pull up to put change in the fireman’s bucket.  Although watching the little league team is fun, it is not the only way that the people can get their fill of baseball.  A lot of people watch their favorite baseball teams religiously at their bars of choice.  It is hard to find a bar that does not have a baseball sign or symbol on the outside of the building.  When winter arrives, citizens take part in sports such as skiing, bobsledding, luge, snowboarding, and other winter fun.  The most popular of these winter sports is skiing because Indian Lake is surrounded by mountains with ski lifts.  The largest one is the ski lift at Gore Mountain.

            Hockey and curling are favorites among the townspeople of Perth.  The town sports its own hockey and curling rink.  The rink is almost as big as an Olympic sized hockey arena.  The town also has several hockey and curling teams.  Hockey is the sport of choice and is widely available to the professionals and the amateurs.  Every winter the river that flows through Perth freezes.  It is then open for public use.  A lot of the citizens use the frozen water as a hockey rink.  There are hockey competitions on almost every weekend! Another popular sport in Perth is curling.  Many of the older generations are involved in this activity because it does not have a lot of violence.  Helene Cooper is a part of the older generations in Perth and she loves to curl.  With this sport comes a lot of time set aside for practicing.  Most curling teams practice more than one day a week.  Perth and Indian Lake share the fact that the townspeople all come together to support the sports players and play along with them.  The difference is that in Indian Lake the people play more baseball than hockey, and they also ski more than they curl.

            The weather in Indian Lake is typical for a mountain setting.  During the summertime it is usually extremely hot.  The humidity is almost always very high.  This is to the point where the beaches become overcrowded.  During the fall, the temperatures decrease drastically.  The humidity is very low, and along with the temperature, it continues to drop as winter arrives.  During the winter season, there is a great deal of snow.  Snow banks frequently reach a dangerous height.  Citizens must always take caution while driving due to the icy roads.  The spring is the least dangerous season for the residents of Indian Lake because the temperature is frequently warm but not too hot or too cold.  In the spring, it also rains just enough to keep the wildlife growing and beautiful. 

            Perth has very drastic weather changes all year round.  The summer could be hot, sunny, and have no wind. Then the next day it will be raining, cold, and windy.  The lightning storms are usually wicked.  The bolts are extremely dangerous, especially when close to the lake.  While camping near a lake, Jerry Platt had unfortunately got struck by one!  Fall is a beautiful season in Perth.  The leaves are all changed and the air is crisp.  With winter, a lot of snow comes.  The river in the center of town freezes.  The bad side of winter is that there are tons of blizzards and snowstorms.  Then it goes back to spring.  The weather is gorgeous except for all of the rain.  The sun is bright and it is never cloudy.  The nights are cool and the sky is lit up with all of the stars and the moon.  This is the same in the summer.  Spring in Perth also brings many flowers and wildlife.  The town becomes so colorful that a person might think they are in Oz.  The weather in Perth and in Indian Lake is similar because it changes very suddenly all year round.  In contrast, it generally snows more often during the Indian Lake winters than it does during Perth winters.

            Indian Lake, New York and Perth, Ontario have some things in common and many differences.  The school in Indian Lake holds more students than the school in Perth.  Perth also has the opportunity for students to grow with grade 12X.  There is a variety of entertainment in both towns.  Both Indian Lake and Perth have their own town celebrations.  The two towns take pride in their sports, even though they support different athletic activities.  The weather in Indian Lake and Perth during the summer is hot, but both also have beautiful spring weather and extreme winter weather.  Therefore the towns are amazing in their similar aspects and amazing in their different aspects.

Author's Note

This is another essay that I wrote for my College Composition class. We had to compare and contrast two things that we knew very well. We couldn't use anything that we had to look up and there should be absolutely no statistics!!