One white resident can trace her ancestors from France, Germany, Scotland and Ireland, through the hills of West Virginia, Kentucky and Tennessee.

An African-American can plot her ancestors on a journey through the rural south, shackled with slavery and years of toiling under segregation.

Ruth Coon, 56, white, and Dorothy Ellis, 81, African-American, both ended up in Cincinnati's historic East End, where they have lived all their lives.

In this east-side neighborhood, spreading along the shores of the Ohio River, about 2,434 whites and blacks have been able to bond together around common elements while maintaining their separate ancestral heritage.

"This is home to me and is the place that makes up most of my heritage," said Mrs. Ellis, one of the founders of the Pendleton Heritage Center, a renovated pre-Civil War building where these two cultures are highlighted.

Mrs. Ellis has been in the East End since the early 1920s.

She has a special passion for the 153-year-old Heritage Center building at 2760 Eastern Ave., because she used to go to dances there as a teen, the only place she and other African-Americans could go to socialize.

Mrs. Coon is one of the founders of the East End Community Heritage Center, a 4-year-old charter school.

"The East End is a good example of mixed cultures living together, sharing a lot of common interest, yet maintaining our own heritage," Mrs. Coon said.

These two women don't have any problems talking about their differences or similarities.

They do agree that perhaps it is the Ohio River, whose banks sometimes succumb to flood waters that seep into the streets and homes along the shoreline, that keeps them close together.

And then there is the constant fight to maintain a certain amount of the old building structures, the scenic view, crime and health problems.

On Friday, they will forget about the problems and celebrate Christmas on the River at the Pendleton Heritage Center with music, gospel, blues, country and bluegrass, along with food and crafts mixed with Appalachian and African-American folklore.

The event is free and funded in part by the Community Arts Fund of the Fine Arts Fund.

The Food from the Heart holiday drive is falling short of its goal of 185 barrels of canned goods.

The drive is conducted by the Society of St. Vincent de Paul with Greater Cincinnati area Kroger stores and Fox 19.

Liz Carter, executive director of the society , said they need to collect about 117 barrels to reach the goal by Dec. 27.

She said anyone can drop canned goods in the specially marked barrels at participating area Kroger stores, or at The Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park through Dec. 31 when attending a performance of A Christmas Carol.

A list of participating Kroger stores is available on the Fox 19 Web site, www.FOX19.com, and the St. Vincent de Paul Web site, www.svdpcincinnati.org.

Seventh-graders at Sycamore Community School, 4841 Cooper Road, are sending messages of thanks and support to U.S. Air Force Special Forces servicemen stationed in the Middle East.

The letters are addressed "Dear Friend," "Dear Soldier," or "Dear Hero."

Teachers Dana Darbyshire and Kathy Nagel started the project as a way to help students understand the hardships troops and civilians face under the cloud of war.

Allen Howard's "Some Good News" column runs Sunday-Friday. If you have suggestions about outstanding achievements, or people who are uplifting to the Tristate, let him know at 768-8362, at ahoward@enquirer.com or by fax at 768-8340.