for many of the years of ducker's tenure as owner of the brewery, mayfield came under pressure to become a dry town and close its saloons. mayfield had missed out on becoming stanford university's service town because the town refused to close its saloons when leland stanford asked them in 1886. palo alto was later formed and prospered as a dry university town while mayfield maintained its image as a rowdy drinking town. in 1904, soon after the town had incorporated, the town's board of trustees voted to become dry. chris ducker, a member of the founding board, was the lone dissenting vote. but, by a thin margin and with much debate, the board later voted to grant the mayfield brewery a special wholesale license to continue operating.