Arnold Cross was born in 1932 in the Cumberland Mountains of east Tennessee. He was raised on farms and began working on the farms at an early age. At seventeen, he went to Indiana to work in a glass factory.In 1952, he joined the Air Force and spent 20 years traveling the world maintaining and flying on airplanes. He also worked in Maintenance Control making sure every plane was airworthy and where it should be. He flew support missions into Vietnam for the length of the war.After Arnold retired, he worked for Square D Electric Company for five years. After that, woodworking became his passion with building mandolins at the top of the list.
