Doug Oster Jenna Mahood, left, of Pine, and Victoria Souca, of Fox Chapel, sit poolside after lunch at Windwood Day Camp in Marshall. The 10-year-olds have been coming to Windwood for three years. Click image for larger version. Related media: Video: A walk in the park

Victoria Souca and Jenna Mahood are rarely apart at Windwood Day Camp in Marshall.

The 10-year-old best friends sit facing each other by the pool, silhouetted by the sky blue water. They are lost in a conversation that's filled with high-pitched, carefree giggling.

For the past three years, the two have spent their 12 weeks of summer on the 27 acres that is Windwood Park. They play tennis and other ball games, participate in crafts and climb on a rope course together with the rest of the campers at the day camp where children ages 4 to 15 can spend as little as a week or an entire summer.

Even when Victoria and Jenna reluctantly split up on opposite teams during a soccer game, they can be found laughing together as they run hard toward the ball.

Victoria, of Fox Chapel, and Jenna, of Pine, met at another day camp but then learned from a mutual friend about Windwood. They both decided they wanted to come here, and Victoria went right to work on her father.

" 'But both of my friends are going,' she told him. 'I really want to go. I'll feel all lonely at my old camp.' " The deal was done, and the two girls were reunited.

"When Jenna came running up to me, I got all happy and everything to see she was here," Victoria said.

The day camp is part of the nearly 90-year-old Windwood Park, run by Susan Law and her husband, Gregory, whose parents ran the camp from 1957 until the late 1980s. The Laws live on the grounds, which include cabins where others live throughout the year and a private swim club.

Mrs. Law believes children can be taught important lessons while spending the long summer days here.

"My main goal is they learn to socialize and they learn to interact with each other in a kind way," she said.

Nestled in a hardwood forest, the park was bought in 1919 by the Wind family, who owned a bar and a bakery in New Castle, Lawrence County. During Prohibition in the 1920s, the patriarch of the family turned the land into a summer resort because the bar business was at a standstill. Pittsburghers would take the trolley to the park to spend time on its grounds.

The Laws continued the tradition of a resort, then opened a private swim club and eventually the day camp. In addition to swimming, games and crafts, weekly fields trips are offered for older youngsters to places such as Kennywood Park, Sandcastle and the Carnegie Science Center.

In the past few years, new recreational facilities have been built within five miles of Windwood, posing some difficulties for the family business, Mrs. Law said.

"Especially the YMCAs," she said. "Good programs -- I don't have anything against them. But the competition is different with them. In some ways, I feel it can be unfair competition. They don't have to compete in the open market, as an owner of a facility that has to generate dollars. Sometimes you can build up a little resentment."

Two YMCAs opened nearby last year -- the Baierl Family YMCA in neighboring Franklin Park and a branch of the Butler County Family YMCA in Cranberry. Owners of private health clubs, including Windwood, protested what they said was unfair competition from the Y, a nonprofit that has tax-exempt status and other advantages over a for-profit business.

For Mrs. Law, it's important to offer activities that are both fun and educational to attract children and compete with the other camps.

"What a great feeling that is to know that we're teaching them skills that will last a lifetime."

She also wants to provide a nurturing environment for the children.

"Kids have to have a safe place to be," she said. "Parents have to know their children are in good hands and the people surrounding them care about them. We really do."

Alex Schwartzmier, of Franklin Park, is well aware of that. She's 20 now and a student at the University of Pittsburgh. She started coming to Windwood the summer she turned 4 and returned every season until she was 14. She came back to work at the concession stand, went on to become a lifeguard, and now manages the park in the summer months.

"I learned everything, how to make friends, how to swim, how to play sports," she said of her childhood years at the camp. "It's exciting to look back and know that all my memories as a child were made here. Whether it was playing Duck, Duck, Goose, or learning how to swing on a swing. The simplest and most complicated things a child does, you learn to do them here."

Day camp director Kerry Gutherie, of Baden, is crouched down wiping tears and sand out of the eyes of a young boy who had been playing volleyball.

"Yes, I always have to be mommy, especially with the little ones," she said with a broad smile.

She stresses the socialization aspects of camp, but she's also big on having children spend time outdoors, just being kids.

"I feel that nowadays the kids would rather be inside. That's one thing the kids need, they need to be outside enjoying the fresh air. If they're always cooped up inside, they're not going to enjoy the outdoor life," she said.

When she encourages them to participate, though, there's no stopping them.

"You'll see them laughing, running, playing and enjoying themselves. And then you'll ask them afterwards, 'Was that so bad?' ... The kids love it and want to do it again the next day," she said.

Mrs. Law has been working with kids at the camp for nearly 20 years and wants them to get something special from their time in the park.

"I feel that I have one of the greatest jobs." she said. "These are the next generation of our citizens, and if I have a small part to play in that, to me, that really does bring me a lot of joy."