Biggest marching drum ever made here

“Big MO” — a nine-foot-diameter custom bass drum for the University of Missouri marching band — is being built right here in Barnesville by Dr. Neil Boumpani of Gordon College.Close to completion, Big MO is an impressive sight even in the high-ceilinged space at Bottoms and Associates on Highway 341. The Bottoms company has built the custom lugs, something like a specialized clamp to hold together the drum’s heads, rim and shell, and has provided much help to Boumpani in the whole process, he said.