Star Profile Harvey Rosen At the southwest corner of Washington Street and Main Street was United Luggage Shop, 1339 Main Street. United Luggage was in the jewelry and gifts businesses, too, while the shop also repaired damaged luggage.

United Luggage had open contracts with Eastern Air Lines and Delta Air Lines to repair their damaged luggage until 1958, when the shop closed. The shopowner went to work in property management with his son, Harvey Rosen.

Rosen was born at Columbia Hospital on Harden Street, when the hospital had no air- conditioning, so the smells and the sounds of the operating rooms wafted onto the Hampton Street sidewalk.

Rosen had an older sister in Columbia, Betty Jean, who married Marvin Brownstein during World War II.

Rosen and his sister attended Schneider Elementary School (now the GranDevine condominium complex) and Hand Junior High School. His sister went to Dreher High School, and Rosen went to Columbia High School, site of today's First Baptist Church.

Rosen was the chief

photographer for the Columbia

H i- Life student newspaper at Columbia High School.

The Rosen family lived in the 200 block of Harden Street, an easy walk to the Five Points Theater for the Saturday morning cowboy movies. The house was the last residence M.B. Kahn built before shifting exclusively to commercial work.

While in high school, Rosen worked for his father every afternoon at United Luggage, mostly repairing Eastern's and Delta's damaged luggage. He also learned watch repair and jewelry assembly and alterations.

Beginning at age 15, Rosen was a member of the Civil Air Patrol Cadets, and on Saturdays and Sundays he cleaned the spotter planes, the aircraft on coastal patrol during World War II.

Rosen went to USC to major in business, but he took a year at the University of Georgia in Athens, to experience attending an out- of- state school. As a non- resident student, Rosen and his parents paid tuition of $145 per academic quarter at UGA.

While in Athens, Rosen worked for a jewelry store as its expert repair technician for Ronson cigarette lighters.

After graduation from USC with a BS in business, Rosen went to work for his father full- time. He soon branched out and managed a Marietta Paint Store in Greenville, S.C.

After two years in the paint store, Rosen returned to Columbia, again to work with his father. He was approached by attorney Milton Kligman to go into partnership and develop four duplexes in the 1000 block of South Kilbourne Road, which he did.

Once in the property business, Rosen began to specialize in real estate appraisals by taking night courses at USC. His professor was suitably impressed with Rosen's early acumen in appraising property values. Rosen was offered a job by his professor.

In 1957, Rosen's former professor and then boss took a position with Richland County as the state's first county tax assessor. About the same time, Rosen's father was beginning to tire of the rising rents on Main Street. Rosen started his own real estate appraisal firm and hired his father in property management.

The Rosens dropped property management in 1991 to focus on real estate appraisals. Rosen's son Joe came into the firm part- time at age 20 and full- time after college graduation and significant work experience elsewhere. Today, the firm has eight people, including the two Rosens.

As an esteemed practitioner in the real estate appraisal business, Rosen has testified in the courtroom as an expert witness more than 200 times. His first appearance was with attorney Victor Evans in 1961, and he has continued with recent courtroom appearances for attorneys Tom Pope, Keith Babcock, and Mike Quinn, among others.

Rosen's hobby is pocket watch collecting. He's an active member of the National Association of Watch Collectors. His favorite supplier is a store in Sarasota, Fla. called Ashland. For a side interest in Russian wristwatches, Rosen sees his friend and dealer in Rye, N.Y., near his daughter's home.

Rosen turns 80 this month, and his real estate appraisal career turns 53 in June. Rosen Appraisal Associates is the oldest appraisal firm in Richland County.