Arno Curt Pappe was the youngest child of Karl Friedrich Ludwig Pappe (1857-?) and Auguste Pappe (1858-1928). He was born in Leipzig on January 11, 1893. In 1911 Arno immigrated to the US, arriving March 9th in Galveston, TX on the SS Koln, which departed from Bremen, Germany. He was known variously as Arno, AC and Charlie Pappe.

Arno lived for a time in Albuquerque, NM, where he married "Maggie Vaughn. The couple lived for several years in New Mexico, then moved to Kansas, followed by Texas, and eventually settled in California. They had seven children in all. Arno Pappe's many descendants live mostly in California, Oregon and Alaska.

Like many Pappes, Arno was a baker by trade.