Bill Clark was enjoying the Manheim Farm Show parade last week with his family when a thought struck him.

"I felt (the parade) was one of those events that made me feel good about bringing my family here," said Clark, who moved to the borough last year as the new superintendent of Manheim Central School District.

A few days later, however, Clark learned something that shattered those pleasant thoughts — a report that spectators had thrown stones and yelled racial epithets at an ethnically diverse band from York marching in the parade.

The incident prompted parade organizers to apologize Wednesday to members of the band from William Penn Senior High School.

"I'm sorry on behalf of our community," parade chairwoman Tracy Zimmerman told the students. "I'm embarrassed by the comments and the actions that were taken against you."

Details of what happened during the Oct. 6 parade were sketchy Thursday night — but it sounded ugly.

York City School District spokesman Jonathan Heintzman told The Associated Press that people in the crowd hit band members with small rocks, sprayed them with soda, used racial epithets and made derogatory comments to the girls.

Heintzman told the AP he was unsure exactly what was said to members of the band.

Several Manheim residents who watched or participated in the parade, including Clark, said they did not see the harassment, and Manheim Borough police had received no complaints as of Wednesday from spectators or participants.

Acting York school superintendent Eric Holmes told the York Daily Record that band members could not identify the people who were harassing them because the parade route was poorly lit.

One member, flute player QueAujonea Wilson, told the newspaper that she saw an object fly past her. She called the situation "insane."

The band includes white, black and Hispanic members and reflects the racially diverse York City district, where whites comprise just 18 percent of the student population.

Band officials reported the harassment to parade organizers after the event, said Seth Kensinger, vice president of Manheim Farm Show, who attended the parade but did not see what happened.

"Our understanding is that it was young people," he said. "Were they from our town? Were they from outside? We don't know that.

"In a nutshell, the incident occurred, and the farm show felt strongly that we needed to make a personal apology to the kids."

Kensinger accompanied Zimmerman to York, where they both apologized to band members gathered on the William Penn football field.

Zimmerman was near tears as she told the students, "I'm so sorry for what you guys experienced last Wednesday at the farm show parade."

Kensinger told the group, "There are so many good people in our community, as there are good people in your community. Unfortunately, there's a few individuals who ruined an evening.

"We certainly feel badly as a farm show board and a community."

Kensinger invited the band back to next year's parade and promised to "host you guys the way we feel Manheim should be hosting folks from outside our area."

As a result of the incident, he said, fair organizers will likely provide more parade volunteers "with direct contact with law enforcement" to walk with outside groups marching in next year's event.

"Clearly, we need to be more visible," he said.

After the York Daily Record published a story Thursday morning about the apology — which fair officials believed would be a private event — the story spread quickly across media outlets and the Internet.

The AP account was picked up by dozens of online newspapers from Boston to Sacramento, as well as by MSNBC, National Public Radio and other national news organizations.

Thursday night, the Lancaster County-based Committee to Defend Civil Rights said it plans Friday to denounce the "racist and sexist attacks."

The group, formed to preserve the Lancaster County Human Relations Commission, said the incident illustrates why the commission is needed.

Manheim Mayor Eric Phillips said Thursday that he's worried the incident will give the borough a "black eye" it doesn't deserve.

"If what's reported is true, it's reprehensible, it's atrocious," he said. "But I think we're getting judged without a jury, and I think that's not fair.

"For all we know, the person (who did this) was from Kansas. To give Manheim Borough a black eye or the farm show a black eye for such an incident is half-cocked."

York Daily Record video of the apology.

bwallace@lnpnews.com