Secret revealed: The time Oprah Winfrey came to this Delaware attraction to make pies
Oprah Winfrey seems to be everywhere these days.
There she was for the unveiling of her official portrait at Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C., earlier this month.
Then she made headlines with her People magazine revelation about using the newest generation of weight loss drugs.
And she was the center of attention on the red carpet in Los Angeles for the world premiere of the new musical remake film of "The Color Purple," which opened in theaters on Christmas Day.
Winfrey's recent media push spurred the leadership of Hagley Museum and Library to decide to open up about their 26-year Oprah secret: the media mogul made a private visit to the 235-acre former du Pont family home and garden in June 1997.
Other than a three-paragraph mention in the Hagley newsletter in the fall of that year, details of the visit had been kept quiet.
"I think we're far enough away from her visit that I don't think Oprah would be offended if we told people she was here," says Hagley Executive Director Jill MacKenzie, who was head of the museum's external affairs and development when she spent the day with the television icon.
So what was the reason for Winfrey's furtive First State visit?
She needed to learn how to make a pie. Well, that and more.
Hagley's wood-fired stove brought Oprah to Delaware
Back in 1997, Winfrey was set to star in the film adaptation of Toni Morrison's novel "Beloved," which she also was co-producing.
Set just after the Civil War, the story follows Sethe, a formerly enslaved person (Winfrey), who is terrorized by a poltergeist and visited by her reincarnated daughter, Beloved (Thandiwe Newton).
The script called for scenes with Oprah, Newton and actress Kimberly Elise, who plays Sethe's other daughter Denver, cooking in a 19th-century kitchen.
And that's what led the film's Utterly Beloved Production team to Hagley, which not only had a wood-fired stove from 1846, but it was still functional, allowing the actresses to use it as they learned firsthand how to prepare foods as if it were the mid-1800s.
Ahead of their arrival from Hollywood, the production company faxed a list of things Winfrey and Elise needed to learn titled "Cooking Lessons for Oprah & Denver," outlining the need to learn everything from cracking an egg with one hand to slicing slabs of bacon.
They made and kneaded dough for biscuits and rolled and cut pie crusts, learning how to use old-time items such as sugar cones and salt blocks at the museum's John Gibbons House.
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Winfrey was dedicated to making sure they knew what they were doing by the time cameras began to roll later that year with "Beloved" scenes filmed across our region, everywhere from Philadelphia and Cecil County, Maryland, to Chester County in Pennsylvania and Old New Castle.
"It had to look like it was totally second nature to them," says MacKenzie, who has been with the museum for 41 years. "[Winfrey] brought an intensity and dedication. This was a working day for them."
The museum, home to historical collections, original DuPont powder yards and more, agreed to keep the visit private, even offering not to take any photos of their super famous visitor, so none exist.
"We really wanted to ensure privacy because if it turned into star-watching, they never could accomplish what they needed to get done. So we were completely secretive about this," MacKenzie says, adding that the production paid a small fee for commercial use of the site.
They closed the Gibbons house for the day, but kept the nearby restaurant open for visitors.
Oprah does Hagley
An advance team from "Beloved" arrived at the museum around 8 a.m., bringing the foods needed for the day including lard, peas, eggs, collard greens and more.
By 10 a.m., Winfrey and the other actresses arrived and went straight to the kitchen.
"Oprah was really laid back; no makeup or anything," MacKenzie says. "They spent the day handling the food ― doing everything from shelling peas without looking to learning how to use the sugar cone and salt block."
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They worked through the afternoon, only taking a break for lunch. And that led to one of the funniest parts of the day.
Winfrey and the crew ended up having lunch at the museum restaurant, joined by film food adviser Vertamae Smart-Grosvenor, the late culinary anthropologist, food writer and radio and television host.
A few museum visitors also were there having lunch when one couple noticed a very familiar face from television and walked up to the table.
"We love your show," the woman said.
"Well, thank you so much," Oprah replied.
"We like your show, but we were talking about Vertamae," the woman responded.
MacKenzie remembers the scene with a chuckle: "Oprah was just as charming as could be and just laughed at the moment. She was really tickled by the whole exchange."
'Beloved' comes to New Castle
While no scenes in "Beloved" were filmed at Hagley, one was shot in Delaware ― at Market and Delaware streets in the historic district of Old New Castle.
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It came three months following Oprah's covert Hagley operation. Here's the hitch: Winfrey was not in the scene, so she was not there. Instead, Danny Glover was the star that September day near Battery Park.
Preparations for the scene, which cost the production company a nearly $15,000 fee to the town to shoot, began a couple of weeks early as crew members worked to erase any hints of 20th-century development.
They covered the streets with sand and removed storm windows, electric lights, air conditioners and more. And since the film is set near Cincinnati, the town's 8-foot statue of William Penn was temporarily removed as well.
The transformation was convincing enough to even fool crew members, The News Journal reported at the time.
One man working on the production asked a resident where the nearest bank was located.
"See the Miami and Erie Trust Co. sign?" the resident asked them, pointing to a brick building on Delaware Street. "That's a real bank ― the Wilmington Trust Co. branch."
Have a story idea? Contact Ryan Cormier of Delaware Online/The News Journal at [email protected] or (302) 324-2863. Follow him on Facebook (@ryancormier) and X (@ryancormier).
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This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: When Oprah Winfrey needed help, Hagley Museum was there. And kept it secret.
