The St. John Animal Care Center was in the headlines again recently, facing only the latest cash crunch in the shelter’s ongoing financial struggle.

We thought this would be a good time to show you the ACC again, and to hear from one of its steadfast volunteers, Diana Ripley.

We met Hugo and Josephine Roller back in 2005 when we were building Bongo Bongo, and immediately liked them.

They are very busy landscaping villas, but their true passion is organic farming.

Pay another visit to the Coral Bay Garden Center, and see where those healthy salads at your favorite restaurant come from.

We’ve posted some great Shot of Brandi features with Captain John from Palm Tree Charters over the last four years, but this one is hands down our favorite.

John, and the celebrity sighting at Steele Point!

Sidney, who ran Sidney’s Peace & Love for four decades, passed away this year, but his legacy remains. Sidney’s daughters continue to run this quintessential beachfront Caribbean bar and restaurant on Jost van Dyke.

Re-introduce yourself to Sidney, and learn a secret or two about how they catch all those fantastic lobsters!

Gerald Singer’s well-read books include St. John Off the Beaten Track and the St. John Beach Guide.

We took a little hike with Gerald back in November 2007 and learned quite a bit from him.

Gerald is still busy working on projects on St. John, and if you’re up early, you might spot him on his daily run through Great Cruz Bay.

Take a hike to Solomon with Gerald!

In 2007 we took readers for an easy hike along the Yazi Point trail. It’s still a favorite little hike when we’re out at Lameshur Bay.

This video also included some narration from St. John author Gerald Singer, who has written a number of books about the island. We’ll re-introduce you to Gerald tomorrow!

We’ve had fun with every one of our “Our Favorite Bartenders” features we’ve done over the last four years, but no bartender on St. John is as colorful as Tyler at the Gecko Gazebo at Mongoose Junction.

Tyler wasn’t performing for the camera this day. He was just being Tyler!

We met David Leo Morley in Cruz Bay Park over Christmas week in 2008, when he returned to St. John after a long absence.

His puppets were mainstays at St. John festivals years ago, and David was devastated to learn about the death of long-time Cruz Bay character Lindy. This day, he showed us a marionette he named Lindy in his honor:

Glen Speer agreed to this interview in May of 2009, and spent hours with us this day.

There was so much he had to say that didn’t make it into the interview, but we think we covered some of the highlights of his incredible life and contributions to St. John.

This is one of our favorite stories ever. This video, posted in January 2009, introduces you to a group of friends racing model boats in Cruz Bay.

The guys have since semi-retired.

Our bags are packed and that means your On-StJohn.com editors are taking a trip – our first serious getaway in about five years.

So for the next two weeks, please enjoy The Best Of On-StJohn.com. We’ve lined up some of our favorite videos from the past four years, including some beautiful places, some interesting stories and a couple of island characters.

Please enjoy The Best Of, and we’ll be back soon!

This awesome picture or hurricane Earl was taken early last week by astronaut Douglas Weelock from the International Space Station.

Somewhere underneath that swirl is tiny St. John.