From corporations donating cash to spouses baking cookies, Cincinnati is preparing quite a wake for Oscar Armstrong III.

Thousands of out-of-town firefighters are expected to assemble here Thursday, but the union worried that it didn't have enough money to provide the visitors food and drink during a full day of services.

The donations started immediately. Kroger and Bigg's are providing meat and cheese trays. Butternut Bread: 108 loaves. Husman's: chips and pretzels. Club Chef: pasta salad and tossed salad for 1,000 people. Pepsi: 20 cases. Hilvers Catering: 20 gallons of potato salad. More items are coming from Big Sky Bread, Jeff Thomas Catering, Queen City Foods and others.

Others chipped in money: Cincinnati Bell, Federated Department Stores, Procter & Gamble Co., the Bengals.

Union President Joe Diebold said it was "comforting to know that everyone's stepping up at this time of our loss.''

Jane Prendergast